Smart Shopping Boom: 4 in 5 Indians Turn to AI Assistants to Hunt Best Festive Deals

• by Akanksha Mishra
• 2026-09-28 15:37:00

Consumer retail in India is undergoing a massive technological transformation as the peak festive shopping corridor between September and November takes full swing. Gone are the days when festive buying was restricted to navigating crowded neighborhood bazaars or manually scrolling through dozens of e-commerce catalogs. According to an extensive consumer study by InMobi Advertising surveying 1,110 Indian shoppers, nearly four out of five consumers (around 80%) plan to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) assistants and automated search agents to discover superior deals, track steep discounts, compare product specifications, and optimize their festive budgets this season.

Festive Spending Appetite Surges: 60% of Shoppers Plan to Spend Over ₹10,000

The report highlights strong consumer sentiment and expanding festive budgets across key demographics in India:

Expanding Wallets: Approximately 77% of Indian consumers surveyed confirmed they have scaled up their overall festive expenditure limits compared to previous years.

Higher Ticket Purchases: 60% of shoppers—representing three out of every five buyers—are budgeting to spend upwards of ₹10,000 on apparel, electronics, smartphones, and home appliances.

Early vs Last-Minute Buying: Around 60% of respondents prefer locking in their purchases within the first month of festive promotions, while 29% plan their bulk buying during the final week before key festival dates like Dussehra and Diwali.

Tier-II Cities Step Up: High-value demand is accelerating beyond metro hubs, with shoppers in Tier-II cities demonstrating a noticeable spending cluster between ₹10,000 and ₹25,000. Operating system metrics reveal that 22% of Android users anticipate spending between ₹25,000 and ₹50,000, compared to 15% among iOS users.

Social Media Discovery & App Alerts: The First Port of Call for Shoppers

Mobile-first browsing has become the foundation of festive discovery across urban and semi-urban markets:

Social Ad Engagement: A massive 90% of Indian online buyers track festive sales promotions, limited-time offers, and influencer showcases through social media channels.

Push Notifications as Purchase Drivers: Over 75% of active buyers discover newly launched products, flash sales, and price-drop alerts directly via mobile app notifications.

Smart Search Ingestion: Rather than browsing broad categories, 89% of shoppers actively utilize AI-powered predictive search suggestions to pinpoint niche product models and cross-store pricing.

The Rise of Generative Retail: Virtual Try-Ons and Tailored AI Recommendations

Artificial intelligence has evolved beyond customer service chatbots into an active personal shopper for modern Indian consumers:

Virtual Try-On Adoption: Around 81% of shoppers prefer utilizing AR and AI-enabled virtual try-ons and fitting rooms to preview clothing, footwear, cosmetics, and jewelry before hitting checkout.

Hyper-Personalized Guidance: 75% of consumers expect AI algorithms to curate tailored recommendations matching their personal taste, budget parameters, and household needs, cementing smart conversational search as the new standard in Indian e-commerce.

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