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Industry brief · Retail

Retail, where our guests sell

Two Building Real founders work in retail. One weaves natural-fibre home textiles and sells them through his own stores in India. The other runs a specialty coffee bar in Singapore that sells its beans through illustrated characters. This brief covers what is happening around them in India and Singapore.

IndiaSingapore
Checked 16 Oct 2026 · every figure linked to its source · next review Jan 2027

01At a glance

0.7%

year-on-year rise in Singapore retail sales in August 2026, or 1.6% excluding motor vehicles1. Seasonally adjusted, sales fell 1.0% from July1

One month, current prices. September data is due in early November
S$4.5B

estimated Singapore retail sales in August 2026, an estimated 15.7% of them online2

One month. Online shares move with the season
S$1.7B

estimated Singapore F&B sales in August 2026, 20.6% of them online. F&B services sales fell 1.6% year on year3

One month. Online includes delivery-app orders
US$37.8B

India's exports of textiles and apparel, including handicrafts, in 2024-25, up 5% on the previous year4

Exports, not domestic home-textile sales
125

Wakefit company-owned regular stores by September 2025, up from 23 in March 20235

Company-owned regular stores only

02How AI is reshaping it

Singapore: the state's retail AI push

Enterprise Singapore and IMDA launched a refreshed Retail Industry Digital Plan on 26 May 2026. It adds AI solutions such as AI concierges, demand forecasting and GenAI marketing content6. A separate Retail Accelerator at L^IFE brings together 16 local retailers6.

50%

estimated cut in content production time at Singapore florist Far East Flora after it adopted a GenAI marketing content solution7

A single government case study, not an industry average.
  • Adoption. Enterprise Singapore says over 75% of SMEs under the retail digital plan have adopted entry-level digital solutions and 45% intermediate ones8. IMDA's 2025 retail survey found adoption of advanced solutions remained limited8.
These are digital adoption figures, not AI adoption.

India: big claims, early tools

BCG and the Retailers Association of India argue that a full-scale, function-led AI transformation can unlock 40-60% performance gains for Indian retailers, against 10-15% from isolated use cases9.

A consultancy estimate. BCG does not disclose the metric, sample or timeframe behind it.
  • Home decor. Online home-decor marketplace Vaaree raised Rs 65 crore in a Series A led by Hero Enterprise and Cap Alpha Ventures, to expand fulfilment and build its AI styling and discovery tool, VibeCheck10.

03Where the money is moving

Recent retail deals

  1. India, sleep. The Sleep Company raised Rs 480 crore in a Series D led by ChrysCapital and 360 ONE Asset11.
  2. India, home furnishings. Online D2C brand Haus & Kinder raised Rs 30 crore in a round led by Sauce.vc, after about Rs 20 crore earlier from family offices12.
  3. India, home and sleep. Wakefit's Rs 1,288.88 crore IPO, of which Rs 371.18 crore was fresh capital, listed on 15 Dec 2025 at Rs 194.10, 0.46% below the Rs 195 issue price5.
  4. Malaysia, grocery. Thailand's CP Axtra agreed to buy The Food Purveyor, operator of Village Grocer and Ben's Independent Grocer, for RM1.7 billion. Completion was expected in the fourth quarter of 202613.
  5. India, home decor. Vaaree raised Rs 65 crore in a Series A10.
Each deal comes from a separate report and they are not added up. The CP Axtra deal was agreed, subject to approvals; its completion had not been confirmed when this brief was checked.

Online brands are paying for shop space

D2C brands' share of India's retail leasing (CBRE)

A year earlier
8%
H1 2025
18%

D2C brands leased about 5.95 lakh sq ft of mall and high-street space in India in H1 2025, 18% of all retail leasing versus 8% a year earlier, per CBRE14.

India's retail market, two separate estimates

₹90-95T

India's retail market in 2025, as estimated by BCG and the Retailers Association of India, which expect it to exceed ₹200 trillion by 203515

US$1.06T

India's retail sector in 2024, as valued by Deloitte and FICCI, which project US$1.93 trillion by 2030, a 10% CAGR16

Consultancy estimates using different methods and currencies. Do not convert, average or compare them.

Where online sales come from

  • D2C. Deloitte and FICCI put India's D2C market (all channels) at over US$80 billion in 202417.
  • Online retail. The same report projects online retail to grow from US$75 billion in 2024 to US$260 billion by 203017.
  • Smaller cities. Tier II and III cities account for over 60% of e-commerce transactions in India by count, according to Deloitte and FICCI18.
The D2C figure covers every channel, including shops, so it is larger than total online retail. The smaller-city share is by number of transactions, not value.

04What governments are changing

  1. India. From 1 August 2025 India halved the minimum investment for new PLI-textiles applicants, to INR 1.5 billion under Part 1 and INR 500 million under Part 2, and added MMF apparel and fabric product codes19. The application window has since closed.
  2. India. The 56th GST Council recommended that readymade garments and made-ups priced up to ₹2,500 per piece attract 5% GST (the earlier limit was ₹1,000)20. It also cut GST on man-made fibres from 18% to 5% and on man-made yarns from 12% to 5%20.
  3. India. The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals rescinded 14 Quality Control Orders, seven of them on polyester-chain inputs including polyester staple fibre, polyester yarns, PTA and MEG21.
  4. India. The quality control order for viscose staple fibre was rescinded with immediate effect22.
  5. India. The PLI scheme for textiles, which covers man-made-fibre apparel and fabrics and technical textiles, had 74 selected applications with Rs 28,711 crore of proposed investment23.
  6. Singapore. Enterprise Singapore and IMDA refreshed the Retail Industry Digital Plan, adding AI solutions such as AI concierges, demand forecasting and GenAI marketing content6.

05Trends to watch

Online brands are opening shops

D2C brands took 18% of India's retail leasing in H1 2025, up from 8% a year earlier, per CBRE14. Wakefit's company-owned regular stores grew from 23 in March 2023 to 125 by September 20255.

Most spending still happens in person

In August 2026 an estimated 15.7% of Singapore's retail sales were online2, and 20.6% of its F&B sales3. In India, The Sleep Company says offline channels, including 150+ exclusive outlets, bring in 70% of its sales11.

India's textile rule changes centre on man-made fibre

GST on man-made fibres was cut from 18% to 5% and on man-made yarns from 12% to 5%20. Seven of the 14 Quality Control Orders rescinded in November 2025 covered polyester-chain inputs21, and the PLI scheme for textiles covers man-made-fibre apparel and fabrics and technical textiles23.

AI support is arriving faster than AI use

Singapore's refreshed retail digital plan now lists AI concierges, demand forecasting and GenAI marketing content6. Yet IMDA's 2025 retail survey found adoption of advanced solutions remained limited8. One published case, florist Far East Flora, estimates a 50% cut in content production time7.

Slow growth on both sides of the counter in Singapore

Singapore retail sales rose 0.7% year on year in August 2026 and fell 1.0% from July, seasonally adjusted1. Knight Frank says prime retail rent growth moderated for a third straight quarter, with Orchard up 0.3% quarter on quarter to S$31.90 psf a month in 2Q2026, and it projects 2-4% growth for 202624.

06The problems our guests are solving

Nanda Kumar on Building RealEP04
India

Nanda Kumar · The Yellow Dwelling

Rs 100-120

per kg for polyester yarn (POY) in fiscal 2025, against Rs 240-260 per kg for cotton yarn, according to Crisil Ratings25

12%

of D2C brands' mall and high-street leasing in India in H1 2025 went to homeware and furnishings, per CBRE14

Nanda Kumar says he and Abhinaya left FMCG and finance careers to build a natural-fibre home-textiles brand. In the episode he explains why they weave their own cotton and sell through their own stores, and says the business has stayed profitable every month without outside funding.

Watch the episode →
The venture builder whose coffee bar won goldEP13
Singapore

Ivan Chandra Suriady · Paco Coffee

The venture builder whose coffee bar won gold

42%

net rise in the number of F&B entities (not outlets) in Singapore between 2015 and 2025, with formations outpacing cessations in most years26

100

Luckin Coffee stores in Singapore, about three years after it entered with two outlets in 202327

Ivan Chandra Suriady says he picked one of Singapore's most crowded markets on purpose. In the episode he explains how Paco sells specialty beans through illustrated characters instead of tasting notes, and runs the bar on Paco OS, software one developer built in-house with AI.

Watch the episode →

See how these conversations connect on the Discovery Atlas →

07Sources

One research agent gathered 35 figures from government, regulator and established data sources. A separate red-team agent then reopened every source, checked each number, its scope and its date, and looked for newer or conflicting data. It kept 8 figures as written, corrected 24 and cut 3. Each figure above links to its source below, with the date it refers to.

  1. SingStat, 5 Oct 2026 · August 2026, current prices
  2. SingStat, 5 Oct 2026 · August 2026 (single month)
  3. SingStat, 5 Oct 2026 · August 2026 (single month)
  4. PIB, Ministry of Textiles Year End Review, 24 Dec 2025 · FY2024-25
  5. Business Standard, 15 Dec 2025 · IPO Dec 2025; store count as of 30 Sep 2025
  6. Enterprise Singapore media releases, 26 May 2026 · 26 May 2026
  7. Enterprise Singapore, 26 May 2026 · Government case study, May 2026
  8. Enterprise Singapore, 26 May 2026 · 2025 survey; release May 2026
  9. BCG x RAI, Feb 2026 · Consultancy estimate, Feb 2026; metric and sample not disclosed
  10. YourStory, 4 Aug 2026 · Aug 2026
  11. YourStory, 6 Aug 2025 · Aug 2025
  12. Inc42, 12 Nov 2025 · Nov 2025
  13. Malay Mail, 4 Mar 2026 · Agreed Mar 2026; completion not confirmed as of 16 Oct 2026
  14. CBRE via Outlook Business, 2 Oct 2025 · Jan-Jun 2025
  15. BCG x RAI, 'Winning Codes for Retail 2035', Feb 2026 · 2025 estimate; 2035 projection (report Feb 2026)
  16. Deloitte-FICCI, Aug 2025 · 2024 estimate; 2030 projection
  17. Deloitte-FICCI, Aug 2025 · 2024 estimate; 2030 projection
  18. Deloitte-FICCI, Aug 2025 · 2025
  19. India Briefing (Dezan Shira), updated Feb 2026 · Effective 1 Aug 2025; window closed 31 Mar 2026
  20. PIB factsheet, 17 Sep 2025; PIB Year End Review, 24 Dec 2025 · Announced Sept 2025
  21. PTI via The Week, 14 Nov 2025 · Notification ~12 Nov 2025
  22. PIB, Ministry of Textiles Year End Review, 24 Dec 2025 · 18 Nov 2025
  23. PIB, Ministry of Textiles Year End Review, 24 Dec 2025 · Status as of Dec 2025
  24. Knight Frank via EdgeProp, 13 Jul 2026 · 2Q2026, prime gross rents
  25. Crisil Ratings, 20 Nov 2025 · FY2025 ('last fiscal' in a Nov 2025 release)
  26. MTI, oral PQ reply, 4 Feb 2026 · 2015-2025, entity counts
  27. Marketing-Interactive, 28 Sep 2026 · Sep 2026