India's 2026 festive e-commerce season has begun on a strong note, with major platforms reporting robust opening day performance. According to a Bank of America report based on Sensor Tower data and festive sales data, the festive sale window runs from October 9 to November 15. Flipkart's daily active users hit a new high on the first day of its Big Billion Days sale, with the platform drawing 6.3 million concurrent users in the opening hour and new customer growth of 34%. The strong performance aligns with broader consumer spending patterns, as Intuit QuickBooks reports that consumers are planning to spend $278 billion this holiday season, with small businesses positioned to capture a record $118 billion from these festive purchases. Meesho and Amazon also reported strong opening days, demonstrating the encouraging start for the festive season across multiple platforms.
Non-metro shoppers emerged as the primary drivers of demand across horizontal platforms, with 60% of Flipkart's demand coming from non-metro areas. As reported by Bank of America, more than 72% of Amazon's visits came from beyond the top nine metros. Meesho's Mall customers from Tier III and smaller towns nearly tripled during the festive period. Amazon's Great Indian Festival saw the number of first-time shoppers nearly double, while more than one in three Amazon customers opted for equated monthly instalments (EMIs). This trend reflects the growing importance of small businesses in the festive shopping ecosystem, with small businesses set to capture a record $118 billion this holiday season according to Intuit QuickBooks data. Retail credit, including EMI, also supported festive demand across platforms, indicating strong consumer financing adoption during the season.
In the fashion segment, Myntra remains the largest platform with monthly active users up 8% year-on-year to about 93 million in September. According to the report, Myntra's DAUs rose 40% in the first six days of festive sales compared with September. Nykaa Fashion's MAUs grew 24% year-on-year to about 17 million, while Nykaa remains the leading beauty and personal care platform with about 20 million MAUs. The festive sale drove moderate increases in DAUs, but Nykaa's own promotional events remain the main driver of engagement. This growth pattern supports the broader consumer spending trends, with fashion and beauty platforms benefiting from increased festive shopping activity.
Quick commerce and food delivery platforms continued to grow structurally but saw limited festive increases in daily usage. Blinkit's MAUs rose 53% year-on-year to about 58 million in September, with average DAUs rising 3% over September levels in the first six days of the sale. Zepto's usage fell 2% during the same period. In food delivery, Zomato's MAUs grew 12% year-on-year to about 63 million in September, while Swiggy's rose 9% to about 66 million. During the first six days of festive sale, average DAUs on food-delivery platforms rose 1-2% compared with September levels. These platforms' performance reflects the seasonal nature of festive shopping, with quick commerce and food delivery seeing more significant spikes on specific celebration days rather than sustained festive season growth. Usage on these platforms tends to spike on occasions such as Raksha Bandhan and Valentine's Day, explaining the modest festive growth compared to other e-commerce categories.
Food-delivery usage typically rises more sharply on celebration days, with Zomato's DAUs rising 57% above normal levels on New Year's Eve and Swiggy's increasing 38%. Swiggy's value-focused food-delivery offering, Toing, saw significant growth with MAUs rising from 1 million in February 2026 to about 18 million in September 2026. The report notes that usage on quick commerce and food delivery platforms tends to spike on occasions such as Raksha Bandhan and Valentine's Day, rather than during the current festive season. This seasonal pattern explains why food delivery platforms showed modest festive growth compared to other e-commerce categories, with consumers saving their food delivery spending for specific celebration days.
