How urban India is gifting this festive season: Traditional sweets, chocolates and dry fruits to dominate gifting

Oct 23, 2024, New Delhi: Most Indians like to give and get gifts on every special occasion, but Diwali is when gifting peaks with many urban Indians buying gifts for family, friends, neighbours. Several corporates also buy Diwali gifts for their employees and their customers to recognize contributions and strengthen their association.

LocalCircles via its annual festive season spending survey has estimated that festive season in urban India is likely to come in at 1.85 lakh crores. Industry estimates indicate that 1.2 lakh crores of festival spending has already taken place in September and October. With the last 10 days remaining before Diwali, festival gifting is likely to be a major area of spending along with last minute essential and discretionary purchases.

As people flock in large numbers to the big shopping malls, popular shopping areas, annual festival trade and handicraft fairs held to attract buyers, LocalCircles has conducted a survey to find out how consumers are planning to purchase gifts during the festive season and what kind of items are they likely to purchase. The survey received over 31,000 responses from urban household consumers located in 314 districts of India. 61% respondents were men while 39% respondents were women. 46% respondents were from tier 1, 30% from tier 2 and 24% respondents were from tier 3 & 4 districts.

57% urban household consumers who buy festival gifts buy them locally while 36% now buy them online

The survey first asked urban household consumers, “How do you primarily buy gifts for friends, family, neighbors, others for the festive season?" The question received 15,801 responses with 53% stating that they “purchase locally and hand deliver”; 21% stated that “order online and hand deliver”; 15% stated that “order online and get shipped to them directly”; 4% of respondents stated that they “purchase locally and get it delivered/ couriered directly” and 7% of respondents did not give a clear answer. To sum up, 57% of urban household consumers who buy festival gifts buy them locally while 36% now buy them online.

1 in 2 urban household consumers who give gifts on festivals, gift traditional sweets, chocolates, bakery products or dry fruits; 1 in 6 gift household items like furnishings, crockery & kitchenware

The list of gift articles covers a vast range from edible products like sweets, chocolates, dry fruits, etc., to festival products like candles, lamps and fragrances to household products that include home furnishings, crockery and kitchenware. The survey next asked consumers, “Generally speaking, what are all the categories from which you buy festival gifts for friends, family, neighbors, others?” Some among the 15,350 who responded to the question indicated more than one option with 53% stating that they buy “traditional sweets, bakery products, chocolates, etc.”; 48% stated they buy “dry fruits”; 27% buy “fragrances, candles, lamps, etc.”; 18% stated that they buy “kitchenware”; 16% of respondents state “gourmet foods”; 12% indicated “home furnishings”; 12% stated “trays, crockery, pots, etc.”; and 18% stated that they buy “other items”. In addition, 9% of respondents did not give a clear answer. To sum up, 1 in 2 urban household consumers who give gifts on festivals gift Traditional sweets, Chocolates, Bakery Products or Dry Fruits; 1 in 6 gift household items like furnishings, crockery & kitchenware.

In summary, the survey finds that 57% of urban household consumers who buy festival gifts do so locally while 36% now buy them online through apps/ eCommerce platforms, as many of them launch special sales. In terms of what are the gifts that urban household consumers are buying/likely to buy, the survey shows that 1 in 2 of who give gifts on festivals, like to gift traditional sweets, chocolates, bakery products or dry fruits while 1 in 4 prefer gifting candles, lamps and fragrances. 1 in 6 though prefer spending a bit more and gifting household items like furnishings, crockery & kitchenware. The annual LocalCircles festive spending survey 2024 had found that 70% urban Indian households shopping this festive season are likely to use stores/ markets as primary channel and just 13% of consumers surveyed are likely to use eCommerce. However, when it comes to festive gift shopping 36% of consumers surveyed have indicated that they will be shopping online indicating that those who buy festival gifts are increasingly also those who prefer shopping online. One use case that is clearly a reason why some consumers buy gifts online is when their family or friend is in a different city and the gift has to be shipped to them. However, consumer feedback in community discussions also indicates that there isn’t a single online platform in India that has the merchandise at scale and provides a seamless gifting experience. Hopefully, we will soon see startups coming in this space and create a best-in-class gifting experience in the coming years. Till then, consumers have to make do with a combination of local and online and in many case pack and hand deliver their gifts themselves which is what most seem to be doing.

Survey Demographics

The survey received over 31,000 responses from household consumers located in 314 districts of India. 61% respondents were men while 39% respondents were women. 46% respondents were from tier 1, 30% from tier 2 and 24% respondents were from tier 3 & 4 districts. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform, and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.