India’s festive advertising expenditure smashes predictions with 12-14% surge

New Delhi: The 2025 festive season marked a robust recovery in India’s advertising ecosystem, with brands demonstrating renewed optimism and ambition in their campaign strategies. Festive advertising expenditure (AdEx) saw a notable uplift this year, surpassing earlier cautious forecasts. Agencies reported a roughly 12–14% increase in advertising spend compared to last year, driven by auto, consumer durables, e-commerce, and an expanding contribution from emerging digital-native categories.

“This year’s festive AdEx showed strong recovery and optimism, especially from mid-September onward. While early spending was cautious, momentum picked up closer to Diwali, driven by auto, consumer durables, and e-commerce. Compared to last year, brands planned sharper, shorter bursts of campaigns with a stronger focus on ROI. The tone of advertising also shifted, less emotional, more value-driven and experiential,” Yasin Hamidani, Director at Media Care Brand Solutions, noted.

The festive surge was also supported by macroeconomic factors such as GST reforms, easier access to credit, and record auto bookings.

“The projections were quite accurate; the market saw roughly a 12–14% bump overall, surpassing cautious expectations. GST reforms, easier credit, and record auto bookings added momentum. FMCG, real estate, and jewellery also expanded spends. While Tier-1 brands consolidated their digital budgets, Tier-2 and regional advertisers came back strongly on print and radio, widening the overall base of festive ad investment,” added Hamidani.

Market trends and emerging patterns

Traditional categories like auto, real estate, jewellery, and retail remained the anchors of festive advertising, while newer categories made notable gains. Fintech, edtech, and quick commerce brands leveraged digital agility to scale rapidly, and sectors like beauty, wellness, and travel saw surges attributed to “revenge spending” post-pandemic. 

As Arjit Sachdeva, Co-founder of VDO.AI, observed, this festive season underscored a structural shift in India’s AdEx, from digital-led to digitally-defined. With digital commanding over half of total budgets and posting 20–25% YoY growth, the medium has moved beyond being a performance channel to becoming the primary canvas for brand storytelling.

Several D2C and mid-market brands opted for influencer-led storytelling rather than mass TV, signalling a maturation in marketing strategies where performance and brand building intersect.

“Auto, real estate, jewellery, and retail remained the festive anchors, but digital-native categories like fintech, edtech, and quick commerce stood out for agility and scale. Beauty, wellness, and travel also surged due to revenge-spend behavior. Interestingly, several D2C and mid-market brands invested in influencer-led storytelling rather than mass TV, signaling how performance and brand building are finally intersecting,” Hamidani elaborated.

According to Hamidani, Traditional media also regained traction. Print, particularly regional editions, saw a resurgence thanks to local festive offers and auto launches. TV maintained leadership in reach, especially with cricket-linked viewership spikes. Out-of-home (OOH) advertising integrated digital innovations in metros, while radio became a favoured platform for hyperlocal retail campaigns.

“Overall, traditional media contributed significantly to brand recall, proving that festive communication still thrives on omnichannel consistency," he said.

Media mix evolution and digital dominance

Brands adopted a more integrated and strategic approach to media this season. Digital channels, including e-commerce and q-commerce platforms, became critical not just as sales engines but as storytelling touchpoints. High-frequency digital bursts, shoppable videos, Amazon banner takeovers, and Blinkit moment marketing, complemented traditional media, which provided emotional context and scale.

Sachdeva noted that the ecosystem is now shifting from transactional delivery to cognitive decisioning, where every impression is a datapoint and every engagement refines the algorithm. CTV and programmatic have emerged as the intelligence layers of advertising, where AI, context, and creativity converge. From interactive and shoppable video ads to dynamic carousels and QR-enabled creatives, brands are experimenting with formats that drive both immersion and measurable outcomes.

“It was more balanced than the last two years. Digital remains the lead medium, but brands rediscovered the emotional weight of traditional media for festive storytelling. Large-format print and OOH provided scale and trust, while digital handled immediacy and interactivity. The key trend was integration, the smartest campaigns built bridges between the two rather than choosing one over the other,” Hamidani said.

Digital performance formats offered measurable advantages. Sponsored listings and contextual display ads delivered strong conversion metrics in categories such as beauty, electronics, and gifting. Shoppable videos and influencer integrations on Instagram and YouTube drove mid-funnel engagement, and campaigns that combined storytelling with clear call-to-action creatives achieved the best results. 

“Performance-led formats gave a tangible edge. Sponsored listings and contextual display ads delivered strong conversion metrics, especially in beauty, electronics, and gifting. Shoppable videos and influencer integrations on platforms like Instagram and YouTube proved powerful for mid-funnel engagement. Brands that combined storytelling with sharp call-to-action creatives saw the best outcomes across conversion and recall metrics,” Hamidani explained.

Challenges and key takeaways for brands

Despite strong growth, challenges persisted. Fragmentation across multiple platforms, shorter attention spans, and unpredictable ad inventory costs posed executional hurdles. Influencer availability was another constraint amid intense competition. Agencies emphasise that early planning, data-informed strategies, and creative agility were critical differentiators for success.

As Sachdeva summarised, “The next growth unlock lies in how effectively we translate engagement into foresight. The next festive season will reward brands that treat data as creative fuel, not just a metric.”

“The biggest challenge was fragmentation, multiple platforms, shorter attention spans, and unpredictable ad inventory costs. Many brands also struggled to secure influencer availability amid heavy competition. The lesson is early planning and flexibility: campaigns that were adaptive, data-informed, and emotionally resonant cut through the clutter. Next year, personalisation and creative agility will define festive success more than sheer budget size,” Hamidani noted.

Brand perspectives on consumer behaviour and sales

Brands reported strong performance this festive season, with significant upticks in traffic, conversions, and consumer engagement. Ganesh Sonawane, “We have seen traffic rise by 28% and conversions by 18% over the pre-festive period. If this momentum continues, we anticipate closing the quarter with ~40% growth over last year's festive sales - supported by festive demand and our continuing organic momentum,” Co-founder and CEO of Frido, shared.

Ricky Vasandani, Co-founder and CEO of Solitario, said, “This festive season reflects a clear shift in consumer choices, with buyers gravitating towards conscious luxury, jewellery that balances beauty with responsibility. Lab-grown diamonds are driving this change, offering the same brilliance as mined stones while aligning with values of sustainability, accessibility, and modern aspirations. We are also witnessing a growing demand for versatile, modern pieces that can transition from everyday wear to festive occasions. Jewellery is no longer confined to weddings or milestones; millennials in particular are embracing it as a form of self-expression that reflects both individuality and ethics.”

Similarly, Swagatika Das, Co-founder and CEO of Nat Habit, noted, “This festive season, we witnessed an exciting shift in consumer behaviour, gifting is becoming more personal, mindful, and experience-driven. Earlier, nearly 70–80% of festive gifts were convenience-based, but today, around 60% of consumers are choosing thoughtful, wellness-oriented options that feel meaningful.”

The 2025 festive season demonstrated that the winning approach for brands is a balance between data-led performance and emotionally resonant storytelling. Integration across digital and traditional media channels, early campaign planning, and agility in execution defined success. With evolving consumer behaviour favouring personalisation, sustainability, and thoughtful gifting, brands are likely to continue experimenting with innovative formats and cross-channel strategies in the upcoming festive cycles.

Retail revival evident in festive spending

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) highlighted the broader economic impact of the festive season, reporting a record Rs 6.05 lakh crore in Diwali trade, up from Rs 4.25 lakh crore last year. Goods contributed Rs 5.40 lakh crore, while services added Rs 65,000 crore. Mainline retail, particularly non-corporate and traditional markets, accounted for nearly 85% of total trade, signalling a revival of physical marketplaces and small traders.

Sector-wise, the largest contributors were grocery and FMCG (12%), gold and jewellery (10%), electronics and electrical items (8%), consumer durables (7%), ready-made garments (7%), and gift items (7%), while home décor, furnishings, sweets and namkeen, textiles, pooja articles, and dry fruits made up the remainder.

Rural and semi-urban India accounted for 28% of total sales, reflecting growing participation beyond metropolitan areas. The festive season also generated an estimated 50 lakh temporary jobs across logistics, packaging, transport, and retail services.

According to CAIT National President B. C. Bhartia, “72% of surveyed traders linked the higher sales volumes to reduced GST rates on daily-use products, footwear, garments, confectionery, home décor, and consumer durables. Consumers reportedly expressed greater satisfaction with stable pricing, which encouraged steady festive spending.”