Published: 12 October 2026
StartupFeed Quick Take
- India’s e-commerce platforms sold about Rs 24,000 crore of goods in the first two days of the festive sales, Redseer estimates.
- Shoppers placed 8-9 crore orders; mobile phones led with 38-40% of value, worth about Rs 9,100-9,600 crore.
- Of 6-6.5 crore shoppers, about two-thirds came from Tier 2 and smaller towns. Redseer expects 10 crore across the 11-day first leg.
India’s online shoppers spent close to Rs 24,000 crore in the first two days of this year’s festive sales, research firm Redseer estimates.
That is roughly six times the gross sales of a normal online shopping day. Mobile phones led, taking 38-40% of the value, or about Rs 9,100-9,600 crore.
Buyers placed 8-9 crore orders across Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho and Ajio. That is about 14 times the orders of an average day.
By our own count, that is an average order of about Rs 2,700 to Rs 3,000. Small baskets, sold in bulk.
Nikhil Dalal, an associate partner at Redseer, said the festive basket is widening well beyond phones.
“Value fashion stood out, as shoppers from Tier 2 and smaller towns bought festive wear at accessible price points.”
Nikhil Dalal, associate partner, Redseer Strategy Consultants. From remarks to news agency PTI, October 11, 2026.
Where the Festive Sales Money Went
Mobiles stayed the biggest category by value. The rest of the basket split across electronics, large appliances and fashion.
| Category | Share of sales | Value (Rs crore) |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile phones | 38-40% | 9,100-9,600 |
| Consumer electronics | 25-27% | 6,000-6,500 |
| Fashion | 15-18% | 3,630-4,350 |
Within electronics, 55-inch televisions and large appliances took the biggest share of spend. TVs, fridges and air conditioners were more than two-thirds of large-appliance sales.
Laptops and smart-home gadgets led the extra orders. Electronics had already risen more than 20% in the first half of 2026, as buyers brought purchases forward before expected price rises.
Fashion value grew 22-25% from last year’s festive sale. The jump came from cheaper festive wear bought in smaller towns.
Small Towns and Gen Z Led the Rush
About 6-6.5 crore people shopped across all platforms in the opening two days. Roughly two-thirds came from Tier 2 cities and rural areas.
Gen Z made up about a third of opening-day buyers. First-time shoppers doubled from last year’s sale.
A normal month sees 15-16 crore unique shoppers online. Those two days alone pulled in more than a third of that base.
Amazon and Flipkart ran the sale through their quick-commerce arms too. Those apps saw four to five times their usual daily sales. Redseer expects about 10 crore shoppers in all across the 11-day first leg of the sale.
What this means for you: If you sell on these marketplaces or run a D2C brand, the first two days say volume is coming from value buyers in smaller towns. List your mid-price festive SKUs and keep stock ready for Tier 2 pincodes before the next sale wave closes.
Have a tip? Write to us at editorial@startupfeed.in.
Liked this story? Follow StartupFeed on Google so our reporting reaches you first.
