Diwali 2026: What Brands Need to Know About Retail Media in India

Every autumn, India lights up with diyas and firecrackers, and also with a consumer surge that defines the commercial calendar. Diwali, the festival of lights, is as much a cultural milestone as it is a peak shopping period. With Diwali 2026 falling on 8 November, brands are already in build-up mode from August onwards, and the stakes have never been higher.

Last year set the benchmark: according to a report by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), Diwali 2025 trade reached ₹6.05 lakh crore (₹5.40 lakh crore in goods and ₹65,000 crore in services), a 25% jump over 2024, with 87% of shoppers preferring Indian-made products. 

For 2026, the commercial context is even more pronounced.  WPP Media’s This Year Next Year forecast estimates that India’s total ad market will grow 9.7% to ₹2,01,891 crore. Within that, digital will command 68.1% of ad revenue, while commerce-led advertising emerges as the single fastest-growing segment, up 24.2%. Diwali is where that convergence between media and commerce lands loudest.

Why is Diwali more than just a shopping event for Indian consumers?

Diwali shopping is tied to traditions around gifting, family gatherings, home improvement, and new purchases. Like Christmas in many Western markets or Singles’ Day in China, the festival influences both spending plans and purchase timing.

Consumer behavior during the season begins well before the festival itself. According to Affle’s Festive Pulse 2025 survey, 49% of Indian shoppers start planning festive purchases at least 15 days in advance. The survey also found that half of festive purchases are made within three to seven days of first seeing an advertisement.

Many consumers now shop in two phases. Early purchases focus on gifts, clothing, decorations, and household essentials. A second round often follows later in the season, when shoppers return to buy higher-value products such as appliances and consumer electronics. As a result, Diwali-related shopping activity can extend across several weeks and, for some brands, begins as early as August.

The composition of the online shopping audience is changing as well. Bain & Company’s How India Shops Online 2026 report estimates that Gen Z accounts for 40% to 45% of online shoppers and nearly half of new orders. The report also notes that shoppers from Tier 2 and smaller cities contribute close to 50% of online commerce activity. During the festive period, roughly one in four new online shoppers enter the market, while sale-day traffic reaches nearly three times normal levels.

For marketers, these trends affect both timing and targeting. Campaigns that begin before the festival can influence early planning and wishlist creation, while later activity can address shoppers who return for larger purchases. The growing participation of younger consumers and shoppers from smaller cities has also increased the importance of regional content, vernacular communication, and mobile-first experiences.

Which retail media platforms dominate Diwali 2025 in India, and how are they different?

As brands plan for Diwali 2026, retail media spending is being divided across three main groups of platforms:

• Marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra
• Quick commerce platforms including Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes and Amazon Now
• Social and video platforms such as Meta and YouTube

Marketplaces continue to account for the largest share of festive ecommerce sales. At the same time, quick commerce is taking a larger share of consumer orders during sale periods as shoppers increasingly use rapid-delivery services for groceries, gifts and everyday purchases.

Data from Diwali 2025 illustrates the shift. Unicommerce reported that ecommerce order volumes increased 24% year over year, while gross merchandise value rose 23%. Quick commerce orders grew 120% during the same period.

Advertising spend moved in the same direction. Quick commerce advertising expenditure increased from ₹1,325 crore in 2024 to ₹4,000 crore in 2025. The Pitch Madison Advertising Report 2026 estimates that figure will reach ₹6,000 crore this year.

According to the Datum Festive Barometer Study, quick commerce accounted for 12% of festive sales in 2025, compared with 8% a year earlier. Blinkit also ranked among the five largest festive commerce platforms, ahead of Nykaa.

For advertisers, the platforms differ in audience, purchase behaviour and shopping occasions.

How the platforms compare

Platform	What Diwali 2025 showed	Where it earns budget
Amazon India (Great Indian Festival)	Recorded 380 million visits in the first 48 hours. More than 70% of traffic came from outside the top nine metro cities.	Large-scale sale events, electronics, appliances, and national reach.
Flipkart (Big Billion Days)	Recorded 606 million visits in the first 48 hours. Gen Z users accounted for 201 million visits, up 19% year over year. Unique visitors increased 28%.	Discount-led campaigns, value-focused shoppers, and broad reach across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
Myntra	Added 2 million new customers. Non-metro cities contributed 70% of orders.	Fashion, beauty and seasonal collections, including ethnic wear and wedding-related purchases.
Reliance JioMart	Continued integrating e-commerce operations with Reliance Retail’s store network.	Grocery, household products and value-driven shopping baskets.
Quick commerce (Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes and Amazon Now )	Blinkit processed around 30 lakh daily orders during Diwali week. Zepto crossed 2 million daily orders. Flipkart Minutes attracted 45 lakh visitors and reported 2.6 times growth in new customers.	Last-minute purchases, gifting, festive essentials, and replenishment shopping.
Meta and YouTube	Brands invested in regional-language content, video campaigns, and creator partnerships.	Influencer partnerships and vernacular storytelling help in product discovery, audience reach, and campaign awareness before purchase.

How do Indian shoppers behave during Diwali, and what local nuances should marketers know?

Diwali shopping in India is shaped by a mix of long-standing traditions and rapid digital adoption. Consumers move easily between online and offline channels, compare prices carefully, and expect convenience at every stage of the purchase journey.

1. Discovery happens across devices, but purchases don’t always follow the same path

According to Affle’s Festive Pulse 2025, 68% of consumers discover festive offers through in-app advertising, while Connected TV is becoming a growing source of product awareness alongside social media. Purchase journeys are rarely linear. Only 58% of shoppers buy on the same device where they first saw a product, 32% switch devices during the process, and 38% complete their purchase in a physical store.

2. Frictionless payments and transparent policies influence conversion

Indian consumers increasingly expect a straightforward checkout experience, flexible payment methods, and clear return policies. UPI, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), and cash on delivery remain important options. The scale of digital payment adoption was evident on Chhoti Diwali 2025, when UPI processed 754 million transactions worth ₹1.02 lakh crore in a single day.

3. Local language content performs better than a single campaign for all

Regional preferences play a major role during the festive season. Festive shoppers engage more with multilingual advertising, and many brands are investing in state-specific campaigns rather than relying solely on national messaging. Campaigns that reflect local language, customs, and cultural references tend to connect more effectively with audiences.

4. Entertainment and commerce are increasingly intertwined

Festive shoppers are spending more time with interactive and creator-led content before making purchase decisions. Live shopping sessions, influencer unboxings, curated gifting recommendations, and interactive product catalogs are becoming common elements of festive marketing campaigns, particularly among younger consumers.

5. AI tools are becoming part of the research process

Consumers are increasingly using AI-powered search and recommendation platforms when evaluating products. MiQ’s Festive Shopper Insights 2026 found that 43% of shoppers discover brands through AI search. As a result, brands need detailed product information, accurate listings, strong reviews, and content that can be easily understood by both traditional search engines and AI-driven platforms.

6. Quick commerce is reshaping last-minute festive purchases

Fast-delivery platforms are increasingly being used for festive purchases such as sweets, decorations, gifts, and puja essentials. Consumers can now order many festive items with delivery windows as short as 10 to 30 minutes, reducing the need to plan every purchase in advance. According to Unicommerce’s festive season data, quick-commerce order volumes increased by 120% during the 2025 festive season. The growth reflects the expanding role of rapid-delivery services in India’s festive shopping ecosystem.

What are the biggest challenges brands face during Diwali sales in India?

Despite the opportunity, marketers need to be aware of a few headwinds. Ipsos notes that the rapid rise of digital has brought ad‑fatigue, ROI‑measurement difficulties and consumer privacy concerns. Supply-chain bottlenecks can hurt brand reputation; quick-commerce players gain share when traditional e-tailers underdeliver. Media costs typically spike during Q4, requiring careful pacing and budget allocation. 

The generative-AI trust gap, highlighted by Kantar (43% of consumers distrust AI-generated ads), means marketers should prioritize human-authored creative and disclose AI usage. Sustainability expectations are rising; 93% of consumers want greener lifestyles, which implies that brands ignoring eco‑friendly packaging risk alienating shoppers.

1. Inventory pressure: Festive surges can overwhelm supply chains; quick commerce platforms will win share if brands under-deliver.
2. Escalating media costs: Q4 CPMs and CPIs spike sharply, and Deloitte notes that 95% of retail executives anticipate rising costs in 2026 due to global trade shifts, forcing 76% to adjust investment priorities and 82% to reallocate capital toward higher-margin ventures. Careful pacing and budget allocation are no longer optional.
3. Measurement and transparency: Retail media must evolve beyond impressions to closed-loop, incrementality-led ROI. IAB Australia finds that 83% of brands and agencies want incremental sales measurement and 76% want ROAS as core deliverables, but only 64% of retailers currently offer incremental sales lift and 60% offer ROAS. That gap is what specialist data & analytics partners are being asked to close.
4. AI trust gap:  While marketers are bullish on generative AI, 43% of consumers distrust AI-generated ads. Human-authored creative and clear brand provenance are key.
5. Fragmentation and legacy operations: Most brands still keep media and commerce teams separate, even as they manage more retail media networks. Legacy systems are also slowing innovation for many retailers. Without better coordination, growth becomes harder to manage.

Where are the biggest marketing opportunities for Diwali 2025 campaigns?

• AI-powered personalization: Dynamic bundles, timed drops, and predictive recommendations that anticipate wishlists. 
  
• Creator collaborations: Micro and regional influencers drive 4.8x stronger distinction for brands.
  
• Omnichannel integration: Synchronize messaging across e-commerce, social, OOH, and in-store digital screens.
  
• Sustainability signals: With 93% of consumers wanting more sustainable lifestyles, eco-conscious packaging and authentic ESG initiatives can be powerful differentiators.
  
• User-generated content: Hashtag challenges, festive reels, and gifting stories add an organic, community-driven layer to paid campaigns.
  
• Retail Media Networks as a discovery layer, not just a shelf: Deloitte finds that 88% of retail executives believe RMNs will be crucial for revenue and profitability in the year ahead, and 79% expect expansion into non-endemic advertising, meaning grocery, marketplace, and quick-commerce platforms will start hosting ads from adjacent categories like finance and travel, opening entirely new inventory for non-endemic Diwali advertisers.
  
• Commerce media convergence: Quick commerce is at a point of inflection, moving from a sales channel to an important media choice.
  

What tactical strategies should marketers use to win Diwali 2025?

Start early and build a funnel

Because digital campaigns have multi‑week cycles, performance marketers should lock creative and inventory by August and launch teaser campaigns by September. Warm audiences through wish‑list content, influencer unboxings and value‑added content before the Great Indian Festival/Big Billion Days.

Personalise with care

Use retail media’s first‑party data to create dynamic bundles and timed drops. However, respect privacy and explain the role of AI, given that 43 % of consumers distrust AI‑generated ads.

Leverage creators and vernacular storytelling

Kantar’s trends report shows that creator‑led content can differentiate brands; micro‑influencers drive brand distinction 4.8× higher than category benchmarks. Invest in local languages and culturally resonant creative to engage Tier‑2/3 audiences.

Double down on video and shoppertainment

Short‑form video and live shopping are dominating digital engagement. Host live product demos on YouTube and Instagram, and use gamified elements on Flipkart/Meta to prolong dwell time.

Omnichannel integration

Synchronise messages across e‑commerce platforms, social, in‑app notifications, out‑of‑home displays and in‑store digital screens. Use cross‑platform frequency capping to avoid over‑exposure and unify measurement.

Highlight sustainability

With 93 % of consumers seeking sustainable lifestyles, integrate eco‑friendly packaging, carbon‑neutral shipping options and transparent ESG initiatives into Diwali campaigns.

Make incrementality part of your Diwali measurement plan

Many brands still find incrementality difficult to measure, but recent Skai and Stratably research shows it has become one of the top factors influencing retail media investment decisions. For Diwali 2026, consider using holdout groups, geo-lift experiments, and cross-platform testing to understand which sales were genuinely driven by your campaigns rather than by existing consumer demand.

Review your retail media mix and reduce unnecessary complexity

With advertisers now active across more retail media networks, managing measurement and reporting has become increasingly challenging. Brands are prioritising fewer partners with stronger measurement standards and more consistent reporting. For Diwali 2026, focus spending on retail media networks that provide transparent measurement and follow recognised industry frameworks, including IAB certification where available.

How can brands use Diwali to build long-term equity, not just short-term sales?

Diwali remains one of the most important periods for brands in India, bringing together high consumer spending and increased audience attention. While the season delivers strong sales, it also offers brands an opportunity to strengthen recall, trust, and relevance through meaningful customer experiences.

Prasanth Kumar, CEO South Asia at WPP Media, recently pointed to the growing connection between artificial intelligence, commerce, and privacy in shaping consumer engagement. He noted that brands are increasingly focused on creating connected experiences across discovery, purchase, and post-purchase interactions, rather than treating them as separate stages of the customer journey.

For marketers planning their 2026 Diwali strategy, retail media is becoming more than a performance channel. Brands are using it to combine audience insights, creative storytelling, and customer experience across multiple touchpoints. The focus is shifting from driving a single transaction to building stronger relationships that continue after the festive season ends.

To learn more about how M+C Saatchi Performance approaches commerce media, explore our Commerce Media services and our latest insights on Key Performance Marketing Trends for 2026.

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FAQ: Diwali 2025 and Retail Media in India