Gold, iPhones, 666 roses a minute: What Indians ordered on Instamart in 2025 might surprise you

New Delhi: A Swiggy Instamart user spent more than Rs 22 lakh on the platform in 2025, buying everything from 22 iPhone 17 units and 24K gold coins to everyday staples like milk, eggs, ice cream, bananas and mints, as per Instamart’s annual order analysis, How India Instamarted 2025. 

The report also said a Mumbai customer bought gold worth Rs 15.16 lakh, while rose orders peaked at 666 per minute on Valentine’s Day.

The fifth edition of Instamart’s annual analysis is based on millions of orders placed between January and November 2025 across 128+ cities, the company said. It positioned 2025 as the year quick commerce moved beyond emergency grocery top-ups to become a daily habit, while also seeing sharper growth in non-grocery categories.

Instamart said the biggest single cart of the year came from Hyderabad, where a customer spent Rs 4.3 lakh on iPhones in one order. In Bengaluru, a shopper added a 1 kg silver brick worth Rs 1,97,000 during Diwali, while gold orders surged over 400% on Dhanteras compared to 2024, it added.

Alongside big-ticket splurges, the report highlighted unusual purchase patterns. Instamart said one Chennai account placed 228 condom orders in 2025, spending Rs 1,06,398, while Bengaluru emerged as the top tipping market, with one user paying Rs 68,600 in tips to delivery partners.

On speed, Instamart said its fastest delivery in 2025 was under two minutes for a Maggi noodles pack in Lucknow, while two customers in Pune and Ahmedabad received iPhones in under three minutes after the iPhone 17 drop, as per the report.

Gifting and celebratory buying also showed up strongly. On Valentine’s Day, Instamart said rose orders touched 666 per minute nationally, while Bengaluru saw a combined peak of 1,780 orders per minute for roses and chocolates. The platform said Mondays emerged as the most active gifting day, with Raksha Bandhan, Friendship Day and Valentine’s Day among the top gifting occasions through its “Giftables” feature.

Instamart said Tier-II markets powered growth, with Rajkot recording 10x year-on-year growth, Ludhiana 7x, and Bhubaneswar 4x. Health and wellness categories expanded sharply too, led by Bhopal at 16x year-on-year growth, followed by cities such as Varanasi, Ludhiana and Warangal, it added.

The report also flagged a widening range of search and purchase behaviour on the app, and pointed to stronger traction for protein-led products and Korean flavours. Instamart said its Quick India Movement sale helped shoppers save around Rs 500 crore, with first-time buyers from Tier-II and Tier-III markets forming a growing share of orders.

Instamart, launched in August 2020, said it now operates in over 128+ cities and delivers across groceries and daily essentials as well as categories such as electronics, beauty and grooming, home and kitchen, and wellness.