Quick commerce reshapes online shopping this festive season

India's ecommerce and quick commerce platforms are gearing up for the festive season, with industry and analysts expecting healthy value growth and divergent spending trends, as strong consumer appetite for premium products co-exists alongside bargain-hunting by value-conscious shoppers.

A key growth engine in e-tailing, quick commerce’s widening appeal beyond everyday groceries into fashion, electronics, and beauty is likely to gather further pace this festive season, building on the gains during the recent festival-led shopping cycles.

Shubham Nimkar, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research, believes the festive season will be "healthy in value terms, but more measured in volume terms".

While consumers will be willing to spend, higher prices are making them more selective, he said, with premium products in the consumer electronics segment likely to perform well, even as value-conscious consumers stay highly deal-driven.

He added that rising smartphone prices, driven by higher memory costs, could push consumers to time purchases more closely around major online sales events.

A report by research consultancy Infisum projected India's ecommerce market to nearly triple from $125 billion in 2024 to $345 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate of 18.4 per cent and propelled by the rapid expansion of quick commerce and artificial intelligence (AI) integration.

By the end of the decade, ecommerce is expected to account for 10-12% of India's retail spending and serve 420-440 million online shoppers, the report said.

Quick commerce continues to expand beyond its traditional grocery stronghold.

Devendra Meel, Chief Business Officer at Zepto, said festive shopping is becoming more diverse, with brands introducing festive-specific stock-keeping units for different occasions and regions, including smaller festivals such as Ekadashi and Teej.

Nimkar noted that consumers were increasingly comfortable using quick commerce for consumer electronics and urgent purchases, though categories requiring discovery, assortment and price comparison would continue to favour traditional e-commerce.

Achint Setia, Chief Executive Officer of Snapdeal, said quick commerce is "largely solving for immediacy in metro India", while its non-metro consumers are shopping with intent and comparing value, viewing the two formats as serving different occasions rather than directly competing.

"Value-seeking remains the dominant behaviour for the consumer we serve. Our buyer is looking for quality at the right price, not a brand premium. That said, 'value' doesn't mean the cheapest possible option.