E-commerce Sales Surge During Festive Season
The recently concluded month-long festive season witnessed an impressive 27% increase in sales across e-commerce platforms, a trend attributed to a resurgence in consumer confidence spurred by comprehensive GST reductions and heightened demand from non-metro areas.
“E-commerce sales surged by 26% to 28% this year, fueled by an overall favorable outlook on consumption,” stated Amar Choudhary, CEO of 1Lattice.
“Notably, this growth occurred without significant discount increases, stemming instead from a broader product range, the prominence of D2C brands, and emerging categories such as puja essentials.”
According to earlier reports from August, e-commerce marketplaces and online retailers were projected to transport goods valued at ₹1.2 lakh crore during the festive period, marking a 27% rise from the previous year.
While subsequent forecasts hinted at a potential 30% growth after GST relief measures rendered many items more affordable, preliminary evaluations at the end of the festive season reflected adherence to the original 27% estimate.
The e-commerce festivities commenced on September 23, coinciding with the implementation of revised GST rates, and culminated around Diwali on October 20.
This window was pivotal for online marketplaces, especially following a downturn in the previous year that significantly impacted FY25 revenues at major players like Amazon India and Flipkart.
Amazon’s Great Indian Festival 2025 recorded a staggering 2.76 billion visits, with over 70% of participants hailing from tier II and tier III cities.
Premium smartphone sales surged by 30% year-on-year, festive decorations saw an astonishing sixfold increase, lab-created diamonds experienced nearly a fivefold rise, and premium apparel sales soared by 150%, as per Amazon India’s data.
Similarly, Flipkart highlighted robust demand across categories such as mobiles, electronics, large appliances, and fashion, although specific sales figures were not disclosed. Queries directed to Blinkit, Instamart, Zepto, and Meesho went unanswered.
Quick Commerce: A Notable Contributor
Quick commerce played a crucial role, contributing approximately 12% to the total festive gross merchandise value (GMV), driven primarily by last-minute purchasing behavior and Diwali promotions on various apps.
Flipkart Minutes witnessed a 1.5-fold increase, with over 1.9 million orders executed between October 18 and 22, while BigBasket reported an extraordinary 500% year-on-year growth in GMV. Myntra’s M-Now platform also doubled its order volume during this festive interval.
This uptick in sales was mirrored by a remarkable surge in UPI transactions, which achieved an astonishing average daily value of ₹94,000 crore in October, representing a 13% increase from September. Analysts attribute the enhanced performance of marketplaces to their capacity to drive volume, while quick commerce further broadened outreach.
“The market is evolving toward an emphasis on quality, feature differentiation, and content-led engagement rather than solely engaging in price competitions,” remarked Prabhav Mohta, associate director at GoBoult.
Some brands like Snitch observed a year-on-year growth of 35% to 40%, while Uppercase experienced demand that was 40% higher than the previous year.
“Discounting strategies this year were more thoughtful,” noted Siddharth Dungarwa, founder of Snitch, emphasizing the brand’s focus on curated bundles and time-sensitive offers.
Uppercase’s B2B segment flourished, exhibiting growth of 2.5 to 3 times, primarily driven by Diwali gifting, particularly in the luggage category, as per Sudip Ghose, the company’s founder and managing director.
Fiscal Year 26 Outlook
Analysts report that e-commerce consumption has been on an upward trajectory since March 2025. “FY26 is shaping up to be more robust than FY25, which was adversely affected by stock market declines and global uncertainties,” asserted Choudhary of 1Lattice.
While brands anticipate a temporary dip in November, they project renewed sales momentum in December, fueled by seasonal factors such as weddings and holiday festivities.
“Given the favorable close to the festive season, we anticipate sustained activity through December, driven by weddings, Christmas, and gifting occasions,” commented Avi Kumar, chief marketing officer at FNP.
Source link: M.economictimes.com.
