India’s Festive Retail Sales Rise as Shoppers Spread Spending Across Channels

India’s festive shopping season delivered growth across online and physical retail, but the stronger signal may be how consumers divided their spending. E-commerce carried much of the volume, stores attracted premium purchases, and quick commerce answered demand for immediate delivery. Deep promotions helped bring shoppers in; whether retailers can keep them when discounts recede is the next test.

October festive sales topped 1.5 trillion rupees, or about $15.94 billion, according to industry analysts. E-commerce sales rose roughly 25 percent from the prior year, while physical retailers also reported double-digit growth. That performance ran against early expectations of a subdued season, though the gains were uneven by category and region.

Growth came in pockets

Ravi Kapoor, PwC India’s partner and retail and consumer sector leader, described a market with strong consumption but no single pattern. “Apparel and accessories have been quite buoyant,” he told Sourcing Journal, while some categories faced pressure from pricing and availability. Demand, he said, was “sporadic and responsive in pockets.”

That unevenness matters for retailers reading the headline figures. Shoppers were active across formats, but their choices reflected different needs: value, premium products, or speed. The boundaries between channels also blurred as promotions and omnichannel services made it easier to compare, order and collect. The season rewarded retailers that could meet more than one kind of demand.

October’s major online sales events helped set the pace. Myntra’s Big Fashion Festival nearly doubled regular daily order volumes for direct-to-consumer and international brands. Its rapid-delivery service, M-Now, also posted double-digit order growth. Flipkart’s Big Billion Days recorded about 20 to 22 percent year-on-year growth in buyers, orders and units, while Amazon’s Great Indian Festival reported more than 50 percent growth in shopping volumes. Ajio, Nykaa, JioMart, Tata CLiQ and Tata CLiQ Luxury also saw a marked increase in consumer activity.

Value shaped the buying pattern

More transactions didn’t necessarily mean shoppers spent proportionately more. Unicommerce data for Oct. 6 to Nov. 4 showed e-commerce orders up 21 percent, quick-commerce orders up 75 percent and orders on direct-to-consumer websites up 30 percent. Promotions and lower-priced products encouraged repeat purchases, while the gap between order growth and sales value pointed to a value-conscious consumer.

Fynd’s Festive Season Report 2026, based on more than 65 brands across eight online marketplaces, put average discounting at 46 percent—12 percentage points higher than in 2025. Ragini Varma, Fynd’s chief business officer for India, said shoppers faced higher borrowing costs, elevated fuel prices, global uncertainty and continued pressure on household budgets. “In that environment, value emerged as the defining theme of the season.”

Retailers responded with more competitive entry-level options, particularly in apparel and footwear. Analysts also said consumers reacted positively to reductions in Goods and Services Tax across key consumer goods. The combination of lower prices and heavy promotions appears to have broadened participation, but it also leaves retailers with a retention challenge once peak-season deals end.

Demand reached beyond major cities

Smaller cities played a larger role in online shopping: more than 72 percent of traffic came from outside the biggest urban centers, and first-time online buyers nearly doubled during the season. That shift puts regional reach at the center of retailers’ growth plans, alongside the need to serve shoppers who may be new to digital commerce.

Eastern India also posted a notable lift in fashion and lifestyle spending, with Kolkata emerging as a hotspot. Myntra recorded a sevenfold surge in the region. Physical stores remain part of this expansion: Nykaa grew its fashion and beauty network to 338 stores across 111 cities ahead of the peak season.

For brick-and-mortar retailers, the season felt like a revival. The Retailers Association of India said physical retail growth exceeded 11 percent, with high footfall and strong fashion sales. RAI chief executive Kumar Rajagopalan pointed to 46 percent average discounting, expansion into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, and footwear’s strength as a utility category. The figures suggest stores are still a meaningful channel for value shopping and premium purchases, even as online platforms drive order volume.

Speed is extending into fashion

Quick commerce is increasingly reaching beyond small, routine purchases. M-Now orders grew more than 2.6 times compared with the previous festive season, according to a Myntra spokesperson. Shoppers used the service for last-minute purchases spanning T-shirts, shirts, tops, jeans, dresses, perfume, lipstick, sarees, lingerie and watches.

Demand covered brands including Mango, Allen Solly, USPA, Van Heusen, Trendyol, Puma, Underneath, Anouk, Sangria, HRX, Maybelline, Lakmé and Minimalist. The fastest M-Now delivery took less than five minutes. One customer also bought an international luxury jacket priced above 190,000 rupees, or $2,022, an example of how quickly the service is moving beyond its usual low-ticket perception.

Premium products still carried significant weight: despite lower volume, the premium segment accounted for 41 percent of total sales value during the season. That helps explain why channels can grow in parallel. E-commerce and quick commerce can generate frequent orders, while physical retail and premium assortments can contribute more value per purchase.

The retention question comes next

Flipkart and Myntra together held 76.8 percent of the e-commerce market share cited by analysts, reinforcing the platforms’ role in driving scale. At the same time, brands are building direct websites and expanding store networks, while quick delivery adds another route to customers. Retailers are working across these channels because shoppers now move between them with little friction.

Diwali marks a peak, not the close of the spending cycle. Other festive occasions and the approaching wedding season are expected to keep shopping active. Still, one Mumbai retailer identified the key uncertainty: “The real test will be whether these festive customers return once the heavy discounts disappear.” Retailers are putting more effort into keeping shoppers engaged, particularly Gen Z customers, whose preferences can shift quickly.

PwC India’s “The Retail Reinvention Paradigm” report frames the 2026 story as a change in how retailers must compete: becoming smarter, faster and more price-competitive to win customers. The festive numbers show that Indian consumers were willing to spend, but their choices were selective and shaped by channel, price and convenience. The next measure of success will be whether retailers can turn that seasonal activity into repeat demand.