Q-com ad rates climb 20-30%, with festive slots nearing 40% spike

The familiar ritual of festive planning, including weeks of checklist-making, market visits, and careful stockpiling, is quietly disappearing from Indian households. This Ganesh Chaturthi, as families across Mumbai and Bengaluru found themselves ordering modaks at 10 AM for the same-day puja, a new reality emerged: quick commerce has altered how India celebrates its festivals.

The Indian quick commerce market has experienced explosive growth and is expected to account for about USD 1.6 billion in sales, approximately 12% of total online sales this festive season, as per a report by Datum Intelligence. This growth reflects a behavioural shift that's reshaping both consumer habits and brand strategies during India's most lucrative retail period.

During Ganesh Chaturthi 2025, Zepto reported a 14.15x surge in sales of decorative lights and a 6.65x increase in Gulab Jamun purchases compared to the previous year. Sales data showed that demand for laddus peaked between 10:00 and 11:00 AM, with Bengaluru recording 3.56 times higher sales than Mumbai during this window. Modaks also saw their highest traction during the same hour, with Mumbai accounting for 36.9% of total platform sales.

BigBasket's experience during the same period adds another dimension to this story. The platform sold over 35,000 Ganesha idols, representing a 300% increase from the previous year, while delivering 1.3 lakh banana orders across cities. Additionally, the platform sold over ₹1 crore worth of pooja flowers and torans. Many of these orders were placed at the last minute and fulfilled through 10-minute delivery.

"Festive shopping in India has shifted from a season of checklists to a season of moments," explains Abhishek Shetty, Marketing Head- Swiggy Instamart & Pvt Brands. "Families no longer need to plan weeks in advance; they can now celebrate first and shop later.”

Quick commerce is creating new consumption patterns. While traditional festival shopping relied on bulk purchases and advance planning, these platforms have enabled micro-moments of celebration. According to the Datum Intelligence report, net order value on quick commerce platforms is expected to grow by 25-30% during the festive quarter.

Festive-day premium slots see up to a 40% jump

The festive season has become the ultimate testing ground for quick commerce platforms' advertising prowess, with brands discovering that these platforms offer significantly higher returns than traditional digital channels.

This has been marked by a steep rise in ad rates across quick commerce platforms. Rohit Sakunia, Founder of Art-E Mediatech, reveals, "Compared with last year, most categories are showing a 20-30% jump, while festive-day premium slots have touched close to a 40% spike."

The surge isn't merely inflationary; it reflects timing-driven demand. Sakunia explains that consumers are leaning on these platforms for last-minute gifting and daily essentials, creating a storm where brands compete for visibility at the exact moment of purchase intent. 

Redseer’s report suggests that by 2030, nearly 10% of branded spend will flow through quick commerce. The share of quick commerce deliveries this season is expected to be 10% of the total ecommerce market, doubling from last year.

In fact, quick commerce's GMV (gross merchandise value) is expected to reach ₹11,000-12,000 crore during the 30-35 day festive period.

The budget reallocation is strategic. Sakunia notes, “Traditional e-commerce still holds the lion’s share, but we’re tracking a decisive 15-20% shift of campaign budgets into quick commerce.”

And the reason behind this reallocation is simple: these shoppers come ready to buy within minutes, not hours, and brands are responding by designing sharper, festival-themed creatives, shorter formats, and more urgent calls to action.

Qcom gets a bigger bite of the ad pie

The festive spending surge has revealed clear category winners in the quick commerce space. Shetty from Swiggy Instamart notes that categories like gifts, décor, puja essentials, and even small electronics double or triple in demand.

FMCG brands have been particularly aggressive in their quick commerce investments. Nikhil Rao, Chief Marketing Officer, Mars Wrigley India, had previously shared, "Quick commerce gifting has doubled over the last year", noting that the platform is central to the brand’s festive strategy.

Amarnath Dutta, CMO of NR Group, the maker of Cycle Pure Agarbathi, reveals, “Nearly 30% of our total advertising spend is concentrated around the festive season, with a growing share dedicated to digital and within that, Quick Commerce plays a vital role in expanding household reach and driving rapid conversion.”

Dutta highlighted how its messaging strategy differs across platforms. While traditional e-commerce ads focus on product selection and social media emphasises brand storytelling, quick commerce creative is tailored specifically to the 'I need it now' moment, featuring products like 'All-in-one puja kits' as complete solutions for festive rituals.

For brands like Nestlé India, quick commerce allows it to speak to consumers by occasion, time of day, and even weather, making its media more contextual and effective. In a previous interview with us, Manav Sahni, Head – Dairy Business, explained, “We’ve launched exclusive brand stores and are investing in homepage properties like brand banners and stories to drive awareness. We also have ‘shoppable’ recipe integrations to drive on-app visibility and conversion.”

Its investments in quick commerce have seen a significant increase post the launch of Milkmaid Mini, leading to better penetration.

For brands like ITC Mangaldeep, the approach is even more nuanced. Gaurav Tayal, Divisional CEO of Matches and Agarbatti Division at ITC, emphasises that these platforms have transformed the brand’s festive marketing by enabling it to connect with consumers at the exact moment of impulse. 

“Mangaldeep aims to be the face of festivals across e-commerce platforms, with a strong presence not just during major occasions but also during regional celebrations like Onam, Varalakshmi, and more.” 

Ad formats that work

The competitive landscape of quick commerce has intensified during the festive season, with each platform offering distinct advantages and discount strategies. As of 2025, Blinkit reportedly leads India's quick commerce market with a commanding 46% market share, followed by Swiggy's Instamart and Zepto. As per reports, Blinkit's GOV is projected to rise by 140%, while Instamart's by 110%.

However, market share tells only part of the story. The platforms are differentiating themselves through unique festive offerings and advertising formats. Swiggy Instamart's 10-day festive season sale called 'Quick India Movement' will run from September 19 to 28, offering up to 70% discounts on select categories like ethnic apparel, dry fruit, and chocolate gift boxes.

Flipkart Minutes, completing its first year of operations, has emerged as a formidable competitor. The platform has achieved 50% month-on-month value growth and attracted over 50 million unique visitors, while creating more than 1 lakh jobs across delivery and micro-fulfilment operations, according to the platform’s report. Its expansion across 19 cities covers more than 2,900 pin codes.

The platform has also innovated beyond traditional quick commerce offerings, becoming India's first hyperlocal platform to enable real-time smartphone exchange, while partnering with nearly 200 direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands and onboarding more than 1,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).

Traditional e-commerce giants haven't remained idle. Amazon India, with 15-minute deliveries in Bengaluru under its 'Tez' initiative, and Myntra experimenting with fast delivery for apparel through 'M-Now,' are catching up. Even Nykaa has sped up delivery timelines in 110 cities, ensuring next-day delivery for 70% of orders while piloting 10-minute deliveries in Mumbai.

The advertising format evolution has been equally dramatic. Seshu Kumar Tirumala, Chief Buying and Merchandising Officer at BigBasket, explains how brands are moving beyond simple sponsored product listings to immersive formats. 

“Brands are moving beyond being purely search-centric and are increasingly adopting immersive display activations with innovative assets like Spotlight Videos, Banners with Add-to-Cart (ATC), targeted banners, and targeted ATC widgets.”

For established brands, Tirumala notes that the bulk of investments still go into performance-led formats like Sponsored/PLA ads, while a portion is allocated to top-funnel initiatives such as brand storytelling, new launches, and participation in high-visibility events.

On the other hand, emerging or smaller brands typically begin with awareness, education, and consideration campaigns before gradually shifting focus toward performance once a stronger customer connection is built.

The search-driven ads on event-specific keywords consistently deliver high ROIs, while curated assets like event-specific landing pages, brand stores, and checkout store placements help brands capture festive demand more effectively. 

“For engagement, gamified and interactive formats such as Know Your Sibling (Rakhi), What’s Your Love Language (Valentine’s), or Guess Today’s Man of the Match (IPL) drive both traffic and customer stickiness, creating deeper festive engagement while linking back to sales,” he continues.

NR Group’s Dutta notes that the most successful formats to drive quick sales are those that feature urgency and convenience. 

“An example of this could be in-app banners or sponsored listings that a consumer might come across while searching for last-minute festive items. To increase brand value, we utilise our collaborations to produce unusual, experiential campaigns that are beyond just a transaction.”

Earlier this year, the brand collaborated with Flipkart's hyperlocal arm, Flipkart Minutes, during the 'Scent of Pongal' campaign. 

Dutta divulges, “We used a multi-sensory approach at bus shelters and through delivery to evoke nostalgia and deliver on the promise of immediacy. The creative is less about brand building and more about problem-solving, real-time solutions for last-minute needs.”

Similarly, ITC Mangaldeep’s Tayal shares, the brand maintains an always-on search strategy in Quick Commerce to ensure capturing every impulse-driven decision. 

“Unlike traditional e-commerce or social media campaigns, our Quick Commerce activations are built on immediacy and emotion.”

An example of this is its campaign ‘Dil Se Karo Baat, Bhagwan Ke Saath’, which highlights Mangaldeep's ability to prompt instant purchase decisions during rituals.

The future of festive commerce

As consumers embrace the spontaneity that these platforms enable, brands are responding with increasingly sophisticated strategies that blend immediate gratification with emotional storytelling.

The success of quick commerce during festivals has also created new expectations. Consumers now expect the same level of convenience and immediacy year-round, forcing brands to rethink their entire approach to inventory management, advertising, and customer engagement. 

As Abhishek Shetty from Swiggy Instamart observes, quick commerce has become "the new festive bazaar, alive, spontaneous, and always ready for the unplanned magic of Indian celebrations." The future of festive commerce in India will be defined not by careful planning and bulk purchases, but by the ability to fulfil desires the moment they arise, making every day a potential celebration.