Quick commerce drives 45% of festive shopping in 2025, shows WPP–Meta report

New Delhi: Quick commerce accounted for 45% of festive purchases in India this year, according to the CPAS Playbook for Retail & Quick Commerce in India released by WPP Media in collaboration with Meta. 

The report indicates that the segment is becoming embedded in everyday buying behaviour, with nearly two-thirds of online grocery orders now routed through quick commerce platforms and adoption rising steadily in smaller cities at an annual rate of 8–9%.

The Playbook draws on consumer insights, performance data, retailer feedback and Meta’s platform signals, brought together through WPP Media’s CPAS expertise. It outlines how online journeys are shifting from planned buying to rapid, impulse-led decisions, driven by people moving from discovery to checkout within the same session.

The report notes that 91% of internet users are aware of quick commerce services, and more than half had used them in the week before the study. While groceries remain the largest category, the findings point to strong activity across fashion, beauty, health products, and kitchen essentials. Monthly spending on fashion accessories and bags has crossed Rs 40 crore, more than doubling over the past six months.

Collaborative Ads (CPAS), Meta's co-branded advertising format that allows brands and retailers to run catalogue-linked campaigns, is highlighted in the report for its role in connecting discovery with verified sales. Coca-Cola used CPAS to support its sugar-free portfolio, recording a 39% improvement in ROAS and a 2.5x stronger conversion rate compared with broad-based audiences. The company’s high-intent segment also delivered 40% lower acquisition costs.

Britannia implemented a full-funnel CPAS approach using Dynamic Product Ads, real-time retailer catalogue syncing and geo-level optimisation across Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto and other partners. The brand recorded a 45% drop in cost per purchase quarter-on-quarter, with ROAS rising from 0.6 to 1.0. Some of its campaigns reached up to 5x ROAS with 60% lower cost per purchase, supported by continuous testing and catalogue-linked signals.

Ashwin Padmanabhan, COO, South Asia at WPP Media, said, “The meteoric rise of quick commerce has compressed the purchase journey like never before. The CPAS framework helps brands bridge the final mile from discovery to verified sale through catalogue integration and real-time optimisation. We are already seeing ROAS as high as 2x in certain categories, proving the power of this model.”

Prasanth Kumar, CEO, South Asia at WPP Media, added, “India’s commerce landscape is undergoing its most significant transformation, shifting from a linear path to purchase to an instant, intent-driven ecosystem. The CPAS Playbook provides a clear blueprint for brands to seamlessly connect brand-building with conversion, helping them drive accountable, measurable outcomes at scale, thus redefining the future of retail advertising in India.”

Gaurav Jeet Singh, Director, Agencies and VC Partnerships (India) at Meta, said, “India is at the forefront of a global shift where discovery and commerce are converging in real time. With CPAS, we’re enabling brands to meet consumers at the moment of inspiration and carry that intent seamlessly to purchase. This Playbook gives marketers a clear roadmap to build connected, measurable, and scalable commerce journeys on Meta, helping them unlock growth in a marketplace that moves at the speed of culture.”

According to WPP and Meta, the Playbook is structured to show how discovery on Meta platforms can be linked with retailer transactions, compressing the buying cycle from minutes to moments. Built around deep retailer integrations, CPAS is positioned as a model that supports catalogue-based campaigns, reduces media inefficiencies and provides transparent, full-funnel measurement. The partners say the model has driven a 24% year-on-year improvement in ROAS for Collaborative Ads.