The Festive Surge: Indian Consumer Spending in the Third Quarter

In India, the third quarter is synonymous with celebrations and festivities, a time when sentiment drives consumer behavior. Indians splurge during the festive season, aligning their purchases with auspicious occasions. Brands across industries—from fashion to electronics, home decor to automobiles—plan major product launches and promotional campaigns during this period, offering consumers great deals and discounts across multiple platforms. These brands work in tandem with influencers, marketers, traders, and service providers to introduce innovative offerings designed to boost consumer spending.

Top Brands Leading Festive Ad Spending

India's festive season has become a strategic period for several top brands that lead in consumer spending. Giants like Amazon, Flipkart, Reliance Digital, Samsung, Tata Cliq, and Myntra dominate the festive advertising scene with record-breaking sales figures and enormous ad spends.

• Amazon's Great Indian Festival and Flipkart's Big Billion Days are major highlights during Diwali, consistently delivering impressive results. In 2022, e-commerce sales during the festive season hit a record-breaking $9.2 billion, and in 2023, this figure was projected to surpass $11 billion. Both platforms attract massive consumer participation through flash sales, exclusive launches, and deep discounts.
• Electronics brands like Samsung, Apple, and LG lead in sales during the festive months, offering discounts, cashback schemes, and EMI options on smartphones, televisions, and home appliances.
• Fashion retailers like Myntra, Ajio, and Nykaa also report record sales during the festive season, with 35-40% of their annual revenues occurring during this time.

These brands pour substantial resources into advertising, primarily focusing on digital platforms, TV ads, OOH (Out Of Home) advertising, and increasingly, DOOH (Digital Out Of Home) advertising.

Record-Breaking Sales: The Festive Impact

India’s festive season has proven to be a business goldmine for brands. According to a report by RedSeer, the e-commerce sales alone during the festive season in 2023 were expected to grow by 28% year-over-year, propelled by a surge in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Consumer demand during this period is so high that it drives 60-65% of annual revenues for many online platforms.

• Samsung and Apple reported a spike in festive sales for electronics, with discounts driving over 50% of annual sales for home appliances.
• Myntra and Nykaa, two fashion giants, reported a 35% growth in online fashion sales during festive periods like Diwali.
• Automobile companies also reported festive sales accounting for 20-25% of their yearly vehicle sales, thanks to attractive offers and auspicious buying traditions.

Key Pockets of Festive Spending

During the festive season, brands strategically allocate their budgets across multiple channels to maximize impact:

• Television Advertising: Traditional TV ads remain a powerful tool for consumer electronics, automobiles, and FMCG brands, especially targeting family viewership during popular shows.
• E-commerce Platforms: Brands invest heavily in ads on platforms like Amazon and Flipkart, utilizing sponsored products, banner ads, and push notifications to capture consumer attention.
• Digital and Social Media: Platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook are crucial for digital ad spending, focusing on influencer marketing, video ads, and viral festive content.
• OOH & DOOH Advertising: Malls, transit hubs, and billboards serve as prime locations for digital and traditional billboards, enhancing visibility and targeting urban shoppers.
• CTV and OTT Platforms: The rise of Connected TV (CTV) and Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms during festive times has also become critical. With viewership on platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ Hotstar surging, brands now integrate ads in these high-engagement environments. Festive-themed content and exclusive show releases give brands more opportunities to target specific audiences through programmatic ads, sponsorships, and product placements.

Role of Performance Marketing Companies and Affiliate Players

Performance marketing companies are at the heart of the festive advertising rush. Brands rely heavily on performance marketing agencies to ensure their campaigns are optimized for conversions, targeting the right customers at the right time, and driving measurable ROI.

• Google Ads and Facebook Ads are the dominant players, allowing for precise audience targeting, performance tracking, and real-time optimizations. Brands use these platforms to run search ads, display ads, and social media campaigns that drive immediate consumer action.
• Affiliate marketing players, such as Cuelinks, VCommission, and Optimise, help extend brands' reach, especially to niche audiences. These players partner with content creators, publishers, and influencers, offering a commission for sales or leads generated through affiliate links. This results in a win-win situation, where publishers benefit from festive traffic spikes, and brands get additional conversions without upfront costs.

As digital consumption increases during the festive period, these performance and affiliate marketing networks become invaluable in driving cost-effective sales for brands.

Advertising Enabler Companies Poised for Business Boom

Advertising enabler companies—ranging from digital ad platforms, creative agencies, and performance marketing firms—thrive during this period as brands ramp up their campaigns. Companies like GroupM, Dentsu, Publicis Media, and Madison World play a crucial role in strategizing and executing end-to-end campaigns for their clients, often managing multi-channel campaigns across OOH, DOOH, digital, and print media.

• Programmatic platforms like Google Ads and The Trade Desk help brands automate and optimize digital ad spending during peak periods, maximizing visibility while minimizing wastage.
• Creative agencies step up with high-impact festive ads, influencer marketing tie-ins, and social media engagements, ensuring brands stand out in a crowded market.

With brands increasing their ad spends by 20-30% during the festive period, advertising companies are poised for substantial growth. Performance marketing becomes key as brands focus on ROI-driven campaigns, while affiliate marketing players help extend reach to niche audiences.

Opportunities for Emerging Adtech Companies and Large Publishers

The festive season presents an incredible opportunity for emerging adtech companies and large publishers to capture a larger share of the advertising market. With a heavy reliance on data-driven marketing, real-time bidding, and programmatic advertising, newer players in the adtech space—especially those offering innovative AI-driven solutions—can offer personalized and highly targeted ads to brands looking to capitalize on the festive rush.

• Adtech firms specializing in AI-driven customer segmentation, dynamic creative optimization, and hyper-local targeting will benefit from the increasing demand for precise audience engagement.
• Programmatic ad platforms allow emerging companies to provide brands with more efficient media buying solutions, improving the speed and effectiveness of ad placements during high-demand periods.

At the same time, large digital publishers like Times Internet, Network18, and Zee Digital benefit significantly during the festive season by offering premium ad inventory to advertisers looking to reach millions of engaged users. Publishers with rich video content, especially in regional languages, are particularly well-positioned to capture a large portion of festive advertising budgets.

Great Offers and Stock Clearance Tactics

The festive season is not only a time for new product launches but also for stock clearance. Brands use the occasion to offer massive discounts to clear out older stock, particularly in the fashion, electronics, and home decor sectors. Here are some of the most common festive offers:

• Flat discounts of 40-70% on fashion and accessories, as brands clear space for new collections.
• Bundle offers in electronics, where consumers can purchase smartphones or televisions with free accessories or extended warranties.
• No-cost EMI and cashback deals on big-ticket items like cars, electronics, and home appliances.
• Flash sales, exclusive early-bird offers, and exclusive launches provide additional incentives for consumers to make purchases.

These offers not only help brands clear their inventory but also attract consumers looking for high-value deals during the festive period, driving significant revenue spikes.

The Future of Festive Spending in India

The Indian festive season will continue to be a major driver of consumer spending. According to market forecasts, the festive sales market is expected to grow by 18-20% annually through 2025. E-commerce platforms, in particular, will see a surge in sales, driven by increased internet penetration and the growing influence of digital-first campaigns and performance marketing strategies.

As brands, advertisers, and consumers prepare for the next big festive season, it is clear that the confluence of sentiment-driven purchases, innovative marketing strategies, and aggressive discounts will continue to define the festive shopping experience in India.