E-commerce Festive Sales: Consumer Spends boosting Economy

A recent FICCI-Deloitte report underscores that nearly three in four consumers now rely on online marketplaces to discover products, while more than half of India’s 1.6 million e-commerce sellers hail from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities; evidence of a truly democratised digital marketplace.

E-commerce, which was once thought to be a practical substitute for traditional retail, is now a crucial component of India's development. Nearly 73% of consumers, the report notes, rely on online marketplaces to find products, highlighting the ways in which digital platforms are impacting consumer behaviour and propelling market expansion in both urban and rural India.

Quick commerce and direct-to-consumer (D2C) models are further fuelling this momentum, by providing consumers with individualized experiences in addition to access to hyperlocal products at unprecedented speeds and. Categories like electronics, wellness, home goods, and fashion are seeing sharp growth, signalling how digital-first platforms are both bridging long-standing supply shortages and influencing new consumption trends.

For MSMEs, artisans, and entrepreneurs, digital platforms have emerged as a potent equalizer – unlocking reach and democratizing access to global markets. Technology is empowering underserved regions to participate in India’s growth story, evidenced by the fact that over half of India's 1.6 million e-commerce sellers are from smaller cities.

Equally significant is job creation. E-commerce has created more than 1.4 million direct and indirect jobs in logistics, warehousing, last-mile delivery, and customer service. Increasingly, these roles are supported by tools such as AI-powered route optimization, predictive analytics for inventory, and real-time tracking.

E-commerce is also reinforcing India's Make In India goal. The report cites that domestic brands – particularly those with roots in Ayurveda, wellness, and functional foods, are becoming export ready and finding strong demand in high-growth markets like the US, Europe, and the Middle East. Supported by industry commitments like Amazon India’s pledge to facilitate $80 billion in total e-commerce exports by 2030. Government programs like the One District, One Product (ODOP) and the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes are further enabling local manufacturers to and businesses to scaling competitively and integrate with international value chains.

E-commerce's development is closely linked to shifting customer expectations. Consumers' interactions with brands are being shaped by AI, generative analytics, and interactive features like virtual try-ons, which are driving up demand for individualized, tech-enabled shopping experiences.

With pricing, regional relevance, and quicker innovation cycles, D2C companies and digital-native brands are leading the way in disrupting legacy models and reacting quickly to new trends. Larger FMCG and retail companies are being forced by this to reconsider their go-to-market strategies, channel mix, and product strategies in order to guarantee dynamic, customized, and value-driven customer engagement. Established e-commerce giants like Amazon are continuously adapting to meet these evolving consumer demands and maintain their competitive edge.

India’s festive economy is emerging as a modern parallel to the traditional ‘temple economy,’ which sustained trade and livelihoods of cities like Madurai, Varanasi, and Jammu through religious tourism. Today, this model is akin to the e-commerce driven festive demand surges, fuelling employment, logistics, and MSME-led manufacturing at scale across categories like fashion, electronics, FMCG and home décor. Festive e-commerce generates economic vibrancy across regions, transforming seasonal celebrations into engines of sustained growth, much like temples. If festivity was going to market to buy fashionable clothes and fancy gadgets in the past, now it is about shopping at Great Indian Festival

At the same time, sustainability has moved from being a peripheral CSR initiative to a core business strategy. From circular packaging, electric delivery fleets, to green warehousing, platforms are progressively incorporating ESG metrics into their operational strategies. Government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is also promoting sustainability by reducing market concentration, making systems interoperable and enabling MSMEs to embrace greener practices at lower costs.

The FICCI-Deloitte report reveals that e-commerce is fundamentally reshaping retail growth across sectors - from apparel and jewellery to furniture and consumer durables - driven by digital adoption and value-conscious consumer behavior.

Sustaining this momentum will require continued policy alignment, an enabling ecosystem and forward-looking regulations. Reforms is ease of doing business, digital tax systems, simplified warehousing regulations, and FDI liberalization are reinforcing India's retail and e-commerce growth trajectory.

E-commerce is now central to a new growth model focused on resilience, inclusivity, and innovation rather than being a side story in India's retail. By expanding market access, empowering small businesses, creating future-ready jobs, and setting up Indian brands for global success, it is set to play a pivotal role in the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. With the right regulatory frameworks, infrastructure investments, and industry-government collaborations, e-commerce not just enable growth, it can become a cornerstone of India's economic transformation. One must congratulate the government for keeping the consumer interest in mind and nurturing MSMEs to adopt digital trade access wider market area by selling on e-commerce marketplaces.