India's e-commerce and quick commerce platforms are experiencing divergent spending trends during the festive season, with strong consumer appetite for premium products co-existing alongside bargain-hunting by value-conscious shoppers. According to Counterpoint Research, the festive season will be 'healthy in value terms, but more measured in volume terms', as consumers become more selective due to higher prices. Premium products in consumer electronics segment are likely to perform well, while value-conscious consumers remain highly deal-driven. Rising smartphone prices, driven by higher memory costs, could push consumers to time purchases more closely around major online sales events. The trend reflects consumers trading up within budgets for better quality products while maintaining value-conscious behavior. As Shubham Nimkar, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research, told PTI, '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.'
India's e-commerce sector is projected to grow nearly three times to $345 billion by 2030 from $125 billion in 2024, according to a report titled 'Smart Growth in a Fast Market' by research consultancy Infisum. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.4 per cent through 2030, as reported by Business Standard. The growth is expected to be driven by quick commerce and increasing integration of artificial intelligence. By 2030, e-commerce is expected to account for 10-12 per cent of India's total retail spending and contribute 2.5 per cent to the national GDP, serving an estimated 420-440 million online shoppers. Traditional business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce is expected to remain the largest segment, accounting for nearly two-thirds of total e-retail gross merchandise value (GMV).
Quick commerce continues to expand beyond its traditional grocery stronghold, with festive shopping becoming more diverse as brands introduce festive-specific stock-keeping units for different occasions and regions, including smaller festivals such as Ekadashi and Teej. According to Zepto's Chief Business Officer Devendra Meel, this diversification is building on gains during recent festival-led shopping cycles. Consumers are 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 from Snapdeal noted that quick commerce is 'largely solving for immediacy in metro India' while non-metro consumers shop with intent and compare value, viewing the two formats as serving different occasions rather than directly competing. Devendra Meel from Zepto emphasized that '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.'
With the festive season approaching, e-commerce, quick commerce and logistics firms are ramping up hiring to meet extended demand windows. Amazon India has created more than 1.6 lakh seasonal work opportunities across its pan-India operations network, with new hiring opportunities in picking, packing, shipping and delivery roles across 400 cities. The company's Vice President of Operations, Abhinav Singh, stated that "This expanded workforce will help us strengthen our fulfillment and logistics capabilities and ensure we can handle the festive season seamlessly. Many of these associates continue their journey with Amazon beyond the festive period, while several others return year after year to work with us." Meesho expects to enable over 10 lakh indirect seasonal job opportunities this festive season, including about 6.5 lakh across its seller network and 3.75 lakh across its logistics ecosystem. The company added that nearly 1.3 lakh sellers are expected to hire seasonal workers across packaging, manufacturing, production, warehousing and inventory management. However, Zepto's Chief Operating Officer Vikas Sharma said the company invests in 'stable, permanent workforce rather than relying on temporary staffing' even during peak demand, focusing on training and upskilling.
The expansion is moving beyond metropolitan areas, with 66 per cent of new direct-to-consumer (D2C) orders now originating from Tier II and Tier III cities, as reported by Business Standard. According to Apna CEO Kartik Narayan, opportunities in Tier-II and Tier-III cities now account for nearly 55 per cent of gig jobs, up from about 39 per cent two years ago. E-commerce and parcel delivery remain the largest categories in smaller cities, while quick commerce is growing the fastest, with postings up more than 600 per cent year-on-year. Snapdeal's CEO Achint Setia said more than 80 per cent of Snapdeal's sales came from non-metro regions, while a Meesho spokesperson reported that 73 per cent of the platform's orders during Rakhi came from non-metro markets, with seller participation up 72 per cent year-on-year. AI-native retail technology company Fynd's Chief Business Officer Ragini Varma noted that pre-Navratri D2C order volumes were already up 16 per cent year-on-year in August 2025, with D2C GMV around Diwali growing 47 per cent year-on-year in 2025 compared with 34 per cent in 2024, and 2026 expectations projecting 35-40 per cent growth. The festive demand window is moving earlier instead of becoming more concentrated around Diwali, making the pre-season an increasingly important selling window.
By the end of the decade, e-commerce is expected to account for 10-12 per cent of India's total retail spending and contribute 2.5 per cent to the national GDP, serving an estimated 420-440 million online shoppers. Traditional business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce is expected to remain the largest segment, accounting for nearly two-thirds of total e-retail gross merchandise value (GMV). Artificial intelligence was flagged repeatedly as a growing influence on shopping behavior, with 76 per cent of Snapdeal's orders now influenced by AI in some form through tools like 'Snap & Shop' image-based search. The Meesho spokesperson said the company's AI-led discovery systems were helping personalise recommendations and identify hyperlocal trends, with creator-led video content expected to play a bigger role this season. AI and machine learning are projected to improve retail productivity by 35-37 per cent by 2030 through conversational commerce, virtual try-ons, personalised recommendations and voice-enabled shopping, fundamentally changing consumer discovery and purchase patterns. Nimkar said festive demand pulled forward by discounting would likely be followed by a softer December-January period, however, in categories such as smartphones and appliances, genuine replacement and upgrade needs mean the slowdown would represent normalisation rather than a shift in consumption.
