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Covid surge: Retailers a worried lot on demand uncertainty in tier 2, 3 cities
retailers are worried that smaller towns and cities that helped lead business recovery last year following the easing of lockdown curbs, could report weakness in demand.Mobility in these markets was strong, along with robust consumer appetite for value apparel, footwear, and smaller home appliances, as India moved out of a lockdown last year."Compared with last year, definitely the tier 2 and tier 3 cities as well as rural areas also seem to have gotten more affected and that will impact demand for value retail and value apparel which was doing pretty well last year," said Anuj Sethi, senior director, Crisil Ratings.“It is still early days and we are unable to ascertain the shutdowns happening in smaller cities, while we are able to see