Ten big trends of the great Indian festive season

As India gears up for the festive season, consumer excitement is on the rise, with significant shifts in shopping behaviour. A study revealed that 89% of respondents are eager for the celebrations, and 71% intend to shop online, pointing to the increasing dominance of e-commerce. Meanwhile, another report highlighted the growing impact of social media, with 40% of shoppers influenced by FOMO (fear of missing out) on popular products. 

This festive period also brings a wave of product launches and brand refreshes. Many brands introduce limited-edition products and revamp their packaging to align with the festive spirit, while campaigns are tailored to reflect the cultural significance of the season. 

Data and AI are enabling hyper-personalisation at scale, allowing brands to deliver more tailored experiences. This transformation is reshaping the way businesses engage with consumers, shifting the focus from generic promotions to deeper, culturally relevant interactions.

While some brands are moving beyond the typical 'offers upfront' approach, recognising that festive campaigns are no longer just about discounts, many still focus primarily on selling. However, this season offers a unique opportunity to build stronger brand affinity by tapping into the emotional and cultural significance of the festivities. 

As the festive shopping frenzy picks up, industry experts predict that this year will see a blend of innovation, personalisation, and strategic digital engagement, setting new trends for brands to connect with consumers during this high-spending season.

Here’s what they have to say:

Abhinav Jain, Co-founder & CEO, Almonds Ai:

One AI trend I’m particularly excited about this festive season is the rise of hyper-personalization at scale. As more brands plan to tap into AI-powered customer insights, we are clearly seeing a shift from broad-stroke campaigns to highly tailored, one-on-one engagements with consumers. This season, I expect AI will drive understanding not just who the customer is, but when and how to connect with them in the most meaningful way.

AI and data is allowing brands to create dynamic content and offers based on individual behaviours, preferences, and even the time of day. Imagine receiving a festive offer tailored to your exact tastes, or content that changes dynamically based on what you’ve been browsing earlier that day. This is no longer futuristic – it’s happening now.

I think brands that embrace this level of personalization will stand out in the noise of the festive season, offering experiences that feel intuitive and personal rather than generic.

Amar Deep Singh, CEO of Interactive Avenues:

Given the ongoing market uncertainties, Indian consumers continue to be cautious with discretionary spending, particularly when it comes to categories like apparel, F&B, automotive, and luxury goods. The festive season will offer advertisers the perfect opportunity to capture audience attention and boost sales through aggressive discounts, product bundling, limited-time offers etc. Keeping the consumer’s end-to-end purchase journey at the core, we will deploy highly nuanced and tailored strategies to help each of our clients maximize business outcomes during this critical time period.

Amit Srivastava, AVP - Marketing, Appliances, USHA International:

Festive cheer is in the air and given the traditional sentiment attached to buying during this auspicious time spanning between Onam to Diwali and beyond, it is the period where we see a spurt in buying from customers across the country. People save to splurge during this period and average spending per household can increase by 20-30% compared to other times of the year, and the discerning consumers of today are willing to spend more on advanced features and energy-efficient models. 

Digital platforms have increased shoppers’ awareness, and hence, some trends and patterns we foresee for the upcoming festive season include an increase in consumption of festive content on social media platforms, more engagement on customised local content from region-specific audiences, a surge in online searches/ queries for the products that customers wish to buy so we need to tap every consumer – from the tech-savvy grandmas to the digitally-smart millennials of today.

Deep Singh, National Head of Strategy, Omnicom Media Group India:

On the heels of an above-average monsoon, the 2024 festive season promises to outperform the preceding, post-Covid festive periods. Rural demand, in particular, promises to see an upsurge in demand driven by a bountiful monsoon and favourable conditions.

Industry reports indicate a significant increase in consumer confidence, with many consumers feeling that their spending capacity this festive season has markedly improved. 

The two-wheeler industry is anticipated to witness strong demand, as statements of leading companies indicate. The top categories likely to dominate the festive shopping lists this year include Apparel, Mobile Phones, Food, Jewellery and Beauty Essentials. Additionally, there is expected to be a notable increase in gifting as compared to self-purchases, enabling brands positioned around gifting occasions to dominate.

Online video platforms such as OTT and websites will play a key role in shaping consumer decisions, while TV and print will continue to play a crucial role as offline channels. Last but not least, as the flavour of the festive season goes, discounts will continue to be a key driver of purchase decisions throughout the season.

Deepali Naair, Group CMO, CK Birla Group:

India's festive season is an ideal time for brands to connect with diverse ethnic communities by leveraging digital execution and analytics to tailor their offerings. By using regional data and first-party analytics, brands in sectors like retail, telecom, and BFSI can craft products and services that resonate with local traditions and cultural nuances. For example, American Express’s "Shop Small" initiative in Thanksgiving 2022 utilised customer spending data to create personalised cashback offers, which supported smaller businesses in the community, enhancing both the relevance of their offerings and support for local businesses, illustrating how effective marketing should shape brand offerings, not just campaigns.

Elizabeth Venkataraman, Executive Director - Marketing, Shriram Finance Limited:

The purchasing power across India is rising, and with e-commerce reaching both near and far, there will be a lot of buying activity. E-commerce also drives additional purchases, often spurred by discounts. However, this is a natural buying season, so it’s going to be buoyant. 

India is insulated from many of the challenges the rest of the world is facing, and consumer sentiment stems from that. If the environment is good, with a successful harvest and good monsoon, we can expect a strong festive season once again.

Santosh Padhi, Chief Creative Officer, Wieden + Kennedy:

India is such a diverse nation, especially when it comes to unique festivals, with significant brand-building opportunities during this time, as 60-70% of brand spending happens in most categories, and so it is from the other side, i.e., consumers.

But I have hardly seen work that is memorable enough to showcase the festival in a unique way that sets a benchmark. Films are still not bad, but especially in print, OOH, and social, where huge spending occurs during these four months.

We all get trapped in the typical 'offers upfront' approach with festivals, so much so that even if you interchange the logos, they would still work, and the buying will still happen.

The consumption is huge; hence, there is a higher chance of creating great brand affinity during this season, but we only focus on selling and forget the most important part of the brand journey.