Quick-Commerce Festive Ad Spend to Reach ₹2,200 Crore in 2026, Up 50%

Advertising expenditure on India’s quick-commerce platforms is projected to reach ₹2,200 crore during the 2026 festive season, marking a 50% increase from the previous year, according to Datum Intelligence’s 2026 Festive AdEx report. Platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart are attracting brands seeking to reach consumers close to the point of purchase. The projected spending highlights the growing role of retail media in India’s digital advertising market.

The surge comes as advertisers compete for visibility during a crucial shopping period spanning Onam, Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath. However, growing demand for advertising space has pushed quick-commerce ad rates up by an estimated 30–40%, raising concerns about campaign costs, promotional discounts and profitability. While brands expect strong returns from advertising on these platforms, smaller and direct-to-consumer (D2C) businesses may find it harder to compete for premium placements.

Key Takeaways

• ₹2,200 crore forecast: Quick-commerce festive advertising expenditure is projected to increase 50% year-on-year in 2026.
• Major platforms: Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart are among the platforms attracting advertising budgets.
• Higher ad prices: Quick-commerce advertising rates have increased by an estimated 30–40%.
• Wider retail media growth: Festive commerce and retail media spending is projected at ₹11,500 crore.
• Purchase-linked advertising: Brands are increasingly investing where consumers discover products and complete transactions.
• Pressure on smaller brands: Rising advertising costs may limit the ability of smaller and D2C companies to compete.
• Profitability remains a challenge: Higher advertising revenue does not automatically translate into stronger profits for platforms or advertisers.

Quick-Commerce Festive Ad Spend Expected to Reach ₹2,200 Crore

According to Datum Intelligence, brands are expected to spend approximately ₹2,200 crore on quick-commerce advertising during the 2026 festive season. This represents a 50% increase compared with the previous year.

The estimate covers advertising on platforms that allow consumers to order groceries, packaged foods, personal-care products and other items for rapid delivery. Advertising formats can include sponsored search results, product placements, category promotions and prominent in-app banners.

Quick-commerce platforms have increasingly become product-discovery channels rather than simply delivery services. Consumers may encounter a brand while searching for an item they need immediately, then complete the purchase within the same application.

For advertisers, this creates a relatively direct connection between marketing exposure and a potential transaction. Brands can use campaign data to evaluate clicks, conversions and attributed sales, although the quality of measurement depends on how each platform defines and reports results.

Festive advertising market at a glance

Indicator	2026 estimate
Quick-commerce festive ad spend	₹2,200 crore
Year-on-year growth in quick-commerce festive ads	50%
Total festive commerce and retail media spending	₹11,500 crore
Quick-commerce share of festive commerce and retail media	About 19%
Total festive advertising expenditure in India	₹60,000–₹62,000 crore
Growth in overall festive advertising expenditure	13–17%

Source: Datum Intelligence’s 2026 Festive AdEx report. Figures are forecasts, not final audited expenditure.

The ₹2,200 crore quick-commerce estimate represents nearly one-fifth of the projected ₹11,500 crore commerce and retail media pool. The figures also show that advertising linked to shopping platforms is expanding faster than the overall festive advertising market.

Why Brands Are Increasing Quick-Commerce Advertising Budgets

One of the biggest attractions of quick-commerce advertising is its proximity to the purchase decision. Unlike broad-reach advertising that may build awareness over time, an in-app placement can reach consumers while they are actively looking for products.

This is particularly relevant for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), packaged foods, beverages, personal care, beauty products and household essentials. These categories often involve frequent purchases, making visibility within a shopping application commercially valuable.

Brands can also use location-level targeting, product availability and search behaviour to tailor campaigns. A company may promote particular products in neighbourhoods where inventory is available or increase visibility during periods of higher demand.

According to the Financial Express report, industry experts expect quick commerce to deliver attractive return on advertising spend (ROAS) and conversion rates. Some experts estimate that brands may target returns of five to six times their advertising expenditure during the festive season. This is an industry expectation, not a guaranteed outcome for every campaign.

Quick commerce becomes a product-discovery channel

Data cited by Financial Express from RedSeer Strategy Consultants estimates that quick commerce accounted for around $9 billion of India’s $40.9 billion online retail gross merchandise value in the first half of 2026. RedSeer also estimated more than 60 million monthly quick-commerce users during that period.

Datum Intelligence’s report indicates that 35% of online retail buyers discover products on quick-commerce apps. This makes the platforms relevant not only for consumers who already know what they want to buy, but also for shoppers who may discover new products while browsing.

For brands, that creates an opportunity to introduce products, encourage trial purchases and increase visibility during a period when consumer spending is elevated.

Advertising Rates Rise 30–40% During the Festive Season

The increase in advertiser demand has also made quick-commerce advertising more expensive. Datum Intelligence’s data indicates that festive-season advertising rates have risen by 30–40%.

The increase reflects competition for limited advertising inventory. A small number of major platforms control much of the quick-commerce market, while premium placements and prominent search positions are limited.

Brands may therefore need to pay more to secure visibility during high-demand periods. For companies competing in the same category, advertising costs can become an important factor in determining whether a product appears prominently in search results or promotional sections.

Higher prices create a trade-off. Advertising can generate incremental sales, but the additional revenue must be sufficient to cover the cost of media, product discounts, platform commissions and fulfilment.

For smaller companies, the challenge is particularly significant because they may not have the budgets needed to sustain expensive campaigns throughout the festive period.

Smaller and D2C Brands Face Margin Pressure

The growth in quick-commerce advertising is not benefiting every advertiser equally. Industry experts cited by Financial Express note that a relatively small proportion of brands accounts for a large share of business on these platforms. Datum Intelligence’s founder said that around 20% of brands account for 80% of quick-commerce business.

This concentration can make competition difficult for emerging brands that are still building awareness and customer loyalty. A smaller company may need to spend heavily to appear alongside established brands, even when it has limited room to absorb higher marketing costs.

The pressure may be particularly strong for D2C businesses, which often balance advertising expenditure against product development, packaging, logistics and customer acquisition costs.

Some companies may respond by reducing promotional discounts, focusing advertising on a smaller number of high-performing products or shifting a portion of their budgets to their own websites and other channels.

The challenge is not necessarily that quick-commerce advertising has become ineffective. Instead, brands must establish whether the incremental sales generated by a campaign justify the higher cost of securing visibility.

How the Spending Surge Affects Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart

For quick-commerce platforms, advertising provides a potential revenue stream beyond delivery charges and commissions. Selling sponsored placements and product visibility can help monetise consumer traffic and improve the economics of an application.

The expected rise in festive advertising may therefore support platform revenue during a period of increased shopping activity. Advertisers also gain access to purchase-related data that can help them assess campaign performance and adjust spending.

However, advertising revenue alone does not guarantee profitability. Quick-commerce operators also face costs associated with dark stores, inventory handling, delivery operations, discounts and customer acquisition.

Financial Express reported that platform commissions can range from 15% to 25%, adding to the cost structure alongside advertising and operational expenses. Actual economics vary by platform, merchant, product category and commercial arrangement.

The commercial opportunity depends on balancing growth with operating efficiency. Platforms must attract advertisers while ensuring that consumers continue to find competitive prices, useful product selections and reliable delivery services.

India’s Festive Advertising Market Is Shifting Toward Retail Media

The quick-commerce advertising surge is part of a broader transformation in how brands allocate marketing budgets. Datum Intelligence forecasts India’s total festive advertising expenditure at ₹60,000–₹62,000 crore in 2026, compared with approximately ₹53,000 crore in 2025.

The report estimates festive commerce and retail media spending at ₹11,500 crore, up 27% year-on-year. Commerce advertising includes placements across shopping platforms and can overlap with search, display, video and other digital advertising formats.

This matters because shopping platforms can connect advertising with transactions more directly than many traditional media channels. Advertisers increasingly want to understand not only how many people saw an advertisement, but also whether it influenced a purchase.

The shift does not mean television, social media or traditional e-commerce advertising will disappear. Instead, brands are likely to use a combination of channels to build awareness, generate product interest and convert demand into sales.

Quick commerce occupies a specific position in this mix because consumers often use these applications when they have an immediate need. That makes product availability, pricing, search placement and delivery speed important parts of the advertising equation.

The Bigger Picture

The projected ₹2,200 crore in quick-commerce festive advertising expenditure reflects the growing importance of platforms where product discovery and purchasing happen in the same environment. A 50% increase in spending would make quick commerce a significant part of India’s festive retail media market, with Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart positioned to attract more brand budgets. The trend also highlights how digital advertising is increasingly evaluated through purchase-linked metrics rather than reach alone.

However, higher spending comes with higher costs. Advertising rates have increased by an estimated 30–40%, which could squeeze margins for smaller brands and lead companies to reconsider discounting and campaign allocation. The long-term opportunity will depend on whether advertisers can generate genuinely incremental sales and whether platforms can convert higher advertising demand into sustainable profits.

Looking Ahead

During the remainder of the 2026 festive season, advertisers are likely to focus on placements and campaigns that can demonstrate measurable sales outcomes. Brands may concentrate budgets on high-performing products, location-specific demand and keywords associated with immediate purchase intent. The final performance of the season will depend not only on spending levels but also on consumer demand, product availability and the returns generated by individual campaigns.

For quick-commerce platforms, the challenge will be to grow advertising revenue without making participation too expensive for merchants or weakening the value offered to consumers. Smaller brands may increasingly demand clearer measurement and evidence of incremental sales before committing more money. As retail media expands, transparency around advertising costs, attribution and campaign performance will become increasingly important to both advertisers and platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much will brands spend on quick-commerce advertising during the 2026 festive season?

Datum Intelligence estimates that spending will reach approximately ₹2,200 crore, up 50% year-on-year.

2. Which platforms benefit from the increase?

Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart are among the major quick-commerce platforms attracting brand advertising budgets.

3. Why are brands spending more on quick commerce?

Brands want to reach consumers close to the point of purchase, improve product discovery and measure advertising against sales and conversions.

4. How much have quick-commerce ad rates increased?

Datum Intelligence estimates that festive-season advertising rates have risen by 30–40%.

5. What is return on advertising spend?

ROAS measures the revenue attributed to advertising relative to the amount spent. A five-times ROAS means ₹5 in attributed revenue for every ₹1 spent, but it does not mean ₹4 in profit because product costs and other expenses remain.

6. Why are smaller brands concerned?

Smaller and D2C brands may struggle to afford premium advertising placements while also paying for inventory, fulfilment, discounts and other operating costs.

7. What is retail media?

Retail media refers to advertising sold by retailers and commerce platforms through formats such as sponsored search, product placements, banners and other promotional inventory. It can connect advertising exposure with shopping activity and purchase data.

8. Does higher advertising spending guarantee higher profits for quick-commerce platforms?

No. Advertising can increase revenue, but profitability also depends on delivery costs, commissions, discounts, infrastructure spending and other operating expenses.