According to The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), sales of its members during the one-month festive season increased to more than Rs 720 billion. The members of the confederation include retailers who sell everything from electrical items to furniture and footwear. The trade body said it gathered sales data from 20 cities.

Despite the upbeat report, India's economy, which grew at the slowest pace in over a decade during the year to the end of March, is likely to enter a technical recession for the first time since independence in 1947.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has forecast a contraction of 8.6 per cent in the July-September quarter, on the back of a 23.9 per cent contraction in the April-June quarter.

However, India could return to growth in the ongoing quarter ending December 2020 if the "momentum" gained in September and October is sustained, the RBI said

The central bank said there was optimism that the revival of economic activity is stronger than the mere satiation of pent-up demand.