₹7 Lakh Cr and Counting: Inside India’s Diwali Economy
- Posted: 06 Nov 2026, 6:41 PM IST
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Diwali is more than a festival of lights.
It is also one of India’s biggest spending periods, with consumer purchases rising across retail, e-commerce, and services.
In 2025, festive trade reached ₹6.05 lakh crore, up 42.4%, and is estimated to cross ₹7 lakh crore in 2026, growing 15-18%.
From groceries and gold to electronics and home decor, several sectors recorded higher sales during the festive season.
Of the total trade, goods accounted for ₹5.40 lakh crore, while services contributed ₹65,000 crore.
Festive activity also generated around 50 lakh temporary jobs.
A breakdown of reported sales shows how spending was distributed across different categories.
Grocery and FMCG accounted for the largest share at 12%, followed by gold and jewellery at 10%.
Electronics contributed 8%, followed by consumer durables, ready-made garments, and gifts, each at 7%.
Home decor and furniture made up 5% each, while other categories, including pooja articles and dry fruits, collectively represented 39% of reported sales.
The distribution shows that festive purchases covered a wide range of consumer goods, with grocery, jewellery and electronics accounting for a notable share.
Festive trade has also increased considerably over the past few years.
From ₹1.25 lakh crore in 2021, it climbed to ₹1.75 lakh crore in 2022, followed by a sharp 114.3% jump to ₹3.75 lakh crore in 2023.
The momentum continued in 2024, with trade reaching ₹4.25 lakh crore, before accelerating to ₹6.05 lakh crore in 2025, a 42.4% year-on-year increase.
This upward trend is expected to continue in 2026, with festive trade estimated to cross ₹7 lakh crore.
The way consumers shop during Diwali has also changed.
Traditional retail still dominates festive shopping, accounting for around 85% of festive trade in 2025.
This includes sales through traditional and non-corporate retail businesses.
Online shopping, however, has become an important part of festive shopping.
Festive e-commerce recorded more than ₹1.15 lakh crore in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2025.
The first 11 days alone accounted for over ₹60,000 crore.
Overall festive e-commerce grew by 18-20% year on year, while average spending per shopper stood at around ₹7,000.
Grocery and quick commerce also recorded higher order volumes during the festive period.
E-grocery orders increased by as much as 500% across platforms such as BigBasket, Amazon, Flipkart and JioMart.
Quick-commerce platforms, including Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto, recorded a 120% year-on-year increase in orders.
These figures indicate that consumers are using multiple channels for festive shopping, from neighbourhood stores to online marketplaces and quick-commerce applications.
Festive purchases are also increasing beyond metropolitan markets.
Around 28% of festive trade came from rural and semi-urban India in 2025.
Online orders increased by 28% in Tier-2 cities and 23% in Tier-3 cities.
This reflects the growing contribution of smaller cities and rural areas to India’s festive consumption.
Consumer preferences also influenced purchasing decisions during the season.
The preference for homegrown products was evident, with 87% of surveyed consumers favouring Indian-made goods and sales growing by 25%.
GST rate changes were another factor.
According to the reported survey findings, 72% of traders linked higher sales volumes to GST rate reductions.
Electronics, furniture and home decor also continued to attract spending, as consumers purchased products for home upgrades.
What stands out is not just the rise in spending, but how it is spreading across sectors, geographies and shopping channels.
As consumer spending continues to evolve, Diwali remains more than a seasonal sales opportunity.
It offers a glimpse into the scale and changing patterns of India’s consumption story.
Sources:
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Vishwa has spent 10+ years across fintech and FMCG doing what most people miss, connecting the dots, catching trends before they trend, and finding the angle nobody else thought to ask about.
At Kotak Neo, she drives content strategy for neoshorts, Kotak News Desk, and Investing Guide, turning market noise into something worth reading.
When she's not decoding markets, she trades charts for canvases, chasing art, painting, and architecture across cities she's yet to explore.
