Urban Sentiment Up, Online Festive Spend To Hit Rs 1.2 Lakh Crore In 2025

The festival season opened with a blast this Ganesh Chaturthi, with Datum expecting the sales in 2025 to witness 27% rise and cross the Rs 1.2-lakh-crore mark.

The rise will be led by not just rural India but also the urban region that has turned positive for the first time in three years. The urban consumers non-essential spending in July 2025 rose 37.6%, indicating a decisive rebound in discretionary demand ahead of the festive season, according to the report released by Datum.

On the other hand, rural customers' non-essential spending surged 54.7% to the highest in two years. This indicated consumption recovery and expectation of further growth in spending.

Datum's research also showed that urban consumers are expecting their non-essential spending to increase further over the next 12 months. While 58% rural households have said that their spending on non-essential items have gone up in this year.

The much-anticipated GST rate revision is expected to give another boost to sales in this year, however the uncertainty around implementation timeline will defer high-value purchases.

The report also added that seven in 10 online shoppers are expected to increase their festive spending in comparison to 2024. Additionally, there has been a visible uptick since March 2025 in ecommerce spending in both credit card and UPI transaction volumes. Datum also expects quick commerce to account for $1.6 billion in sales representing nearly 12% of the total online sales.

Customers preferred Amazon over other online shopping platforms like Flipkart, Myntra and Blinkit. However, Blinkit has risen to the fifth position and overtaken several players to trail just behind Meesho.

While the mobile and lifestyle account for 50% of the festive sales in 2025, Datum has projected a slight decline in the gross market volume share. The other categories like grocery, appliances and personal care on the other hand are expected to see gains through the rest of this year. This mainly can be attributed to the expected GST cuts.