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Diwali Sales Hit ₹5.40 Lakh Crore as Non‑Metro India Drives Online Growth

GST rate cuts are widely credited for lifting festive demand.

Overview

  • A CAIT survey estimates ₹5.40 lakh crore in goods and ₹65,000 crore in services during the festive period, up about 25% from 2024, with brick‑and‑mortar retail contributing roughly 85% of sales.
  • Unicommerce reports about 24% growth in online order volumes and 23% GMV growth, as quick‑commerce players including Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, Blinkit and Bigbasket recorded roughly 120% higher orders.
  • ClickPost, analyzing over 4.25 crore shipments, finds Tier‑3 cities generated 50.7% of festive e‑commerce orders and Tier‑2 24.8%, placing non‑metros at 74.7% of total volume.
  • Logistics performance remained resilient with an average delivery time of 2.83 days and same‑day or hyperlocal fulfilment rising 42% year‑on‑year to 8.7% of orders.
  • Payment and basket patterns shifted as cash‑on‑delivery accounted for 52% of Tier‑3 orders and average order value increased 32.5% year‑on‑year to ₹4,346.