As India drenched itself in the vibrant hues of the Holi festival, online shopping platforms such as Flipkart, Swiggy, Blinkit, and Zepto recorded unprecedented sales, celebrating the occasion with blockbuster success. The festivities saw a remarkable uptick in demand for traditional sweets, colors, and party essentials, highlighting a significant shift in consumer behavior towards digital platforms for festival preparations.
Rohit Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer of Swiggy’s food marketplace, shared on X (formerly Twitter) that the platform experienced a buzzing demand for gujiya and thandai, with offerings spanning 192 varieties of gujiya and 242 of thandai across India. A notable mention was a user from Lucknow who extravagantly spent Rs 28,830 on gujiyas for Holi celebrations, showcasing the festive spirit and the platform’s reach.
Swiggy’s Co-Founder, Phani Kishan, also highlighted the widespread enthusiasm for Holi essentials such as pichkaris (water guns), gulals (colors), and T-shirts, indicating a higher order per minute rate compared to typical Sunday mornings. Swiggy Instamart, in particular, reported a fivefold increase in flower sales compared to the previous year, with nearly every order in the lead-up to Holi including gulal, and significant sales of pichkaris in Bengaluru and Mumbai.
Blinkit, a quick-commerce giant, surpassed its previous sales records, including those from Valentine’s Day earlier in the year, marking the Holi festival as its highest-ever in terms of orders per minute (OPM) and other metrics. CEO Albinder Dhindsa celebrated this achievement on X, emphasizing the surge in demand for Holi-specific products like coconut oil, pichkaris, and gulal.
Similarly, Zepto and Flipkart’s Shopsy platform witnessed a surge in sales, with Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha noting an unexpected rise in laundry detergents post-Holi and an increase in white T-shirt sales on the morning of the festival. Shopsy capitalized on the festive mood by offering an extensive range of Holi essentials starting at Rs 39, including innovative color options like smoke and spray colors, alongside traditional favorites.
The Holi sales underscore a growing trend towards indulging in Indian delicacies and eco-friendly options, with Shopsy reporting a niche market for organic herbal Holi colors. Despite the festive surge, Amazon and SoftBank-backed Meesho remained silent on their Holi sales figures.
This year’s Holi festival not only brought traditional celebrations to life but also marked a significant milestone for India’s e-tailing sector, which is expected to grow fivefold by 2030, driven by value-seeking consumers, as reported by Redseer Strategy Consultants.
