Decoding India’s Festive Season 2025: Consumers, Celebrations, and Commerce
Reading Time: 4 minutesIndia’s festive season has always been a cultural crescendo where sentiment, aspiration, and commerce converge. In 2025, the trend continues. VDO.AI’s Festive Marketing Playbook 2025 reveals that consumers aren’t just spending more, they’re spending with intent, values, and experiences in mind.
So, what does this evolving festive landscape look like? And how can brands win consumer love in this high-stakes quarter?
The Intent-Led Indian
Festivals in India are deeply emotional inflection points. This year’s survey shows that over 40% of consumers plan to increase their festive budgets compared to last year, while another 43% expect to maintain their spending levels. But behind this optimism lies nuance.
Four archetypes of festive shoppers emerge:
- Essentials-Only Shoppers (21%) – price-conscious, need-driven, focused on trust and practicality.
- Budget-Optimisers (30%) – pragmatic, tradition-first, hunting discounts and regional stories.
- Smart Spenders (32%) – balancing aspiration with affordability, drawn to EMI deals and peer reviews.
- Experience Seekers (15%) – quality-driven, seeking aesthetics, curated gifting, and seamless phygital journeys.
Tier 1 cities are seeing a rise in premium aspirations, while smaller towns continue to fuel pragmatic but powerful consumption growth.
The Value of Values
Sustainability is now subconsciously embedded in festive choices. Nearly 90% of consumers say sustainability plays at least a moderate role in their purchase decisions, with 91% open to paying more for certified sustainable products, as long as quality and performance aren’t compromised. The demand for eco-friendly packaging, ethically sourced food, conscious fashion, and zero-waste lifestyle products points towards a shift in celebrations that blend indulgence with accountability.
For brands, the risk of being dismissed as “greenwashing” is high. Authenticity and transparency will decide who earns festive trust.
The Festive Drumroll
Festive journeys begin far before the “D-Day”. More than 55% of shoppers start planning their purchases at least a month in advance. Some dive in as early as three months prior, especially in categories like durables and travel.
But last-minute buying is prominent too! Nearly 29% make purchases close to the occasion, and 14% shop entirely on the fly. Discovery, therefore, becomes a layered mood: equal parts early planning, impulse inspiration, and contextual nudges.
Festivities also move with the consumer. Over half of respondents plan to travel between August and December, blending emotion with opportunity. For travel and hospitality brands, this “festival in transit” opens a lucrative window for storytelling beyond mere utility.
Where Wallets Go
The heatmap of festive spending for 2025 reveals three dominant themes:
- Fashion & Apparel takes the lead, acting as an expression of identity and culture.
- Durables & Electronics emerge as high-intent categories, with 45% of consumers likely to purchase a major durable this season.
- Home Décor, Jewellery, and Gifting hold the emotional middle ground, driven by cultural rituals and sentiment.
Interestingly, our study also revealed that 3 in 4 consumers are either planning or open to buying premium products this festive season.
Screens of Influence
The festive consumer’s journey is mediated by screens, with social media acting as the first showroom. 70% consumers discover new products or gifts on platforms like Instagram and YouTube, while video reigns, with 81% saying that short-form video is their top festive content format.
This is where CTV and OLV formats shine. They combine storytelling with interactivity, enabling QR-based actions, shoppable overlays, and dynamic creative optimisation. Meanwhile, offline still plays a role in validation. Festive buyers might start with a reel, but confirm decisions through family discussions or in-store touchpoints.
Post-purchase is equally critical: 60%+ of shoppers say they’re likely to buy again within six months if their festive experience is positive. For brands, loyalty doesn’t end at checkout but is built in delivery, returns, and small personalised gestures that extend the festive joy.
The Festive Outlook
India’s festive marketplace in 2025 is vibrant, layered, and value-driven. Consumers are:
- Spending with intent, not excess.
- Choosing values alongside value.
- Seeking experiences beyond products.
- Moving fluidly between online discovery and offline validation.
For brands, the festive opportunity lies in decoding this rhythm. From early planners to last-minute buyers, from aspirational upgrades to sustainable gifting, and from social discovery to CTV storytelling, every touchpoint is a chance to influence, inspire, and convert.
Click here to download the report now and make the most out of this festive season.
Lay the groundwork for your advertising success this festive season
India’s festive marketplace in 2025 is layered with intent, aspiration, and values. Shoppers are spending with more purpose, embracing sustainable choices, and navigating between screens and stores with ease. For marketers, this season is about building relevance, trust, and loyalty that extends well beyond the festive quarter.
At VDO.AI, we see this as the defining moment to rethink festive advertising. From immersive video formats to interactive CTV campaigns, we enable brands to cut through the clutter, capture attention where it matters, and translate it into measurable outcomes. Festive success comes to those who can pair cultural nuance with creative innovation. Let’s explore how your brand can win that! Write to us at hello@vdo.ai to get started.
