With 65% of orders from Tier 2 & 3 cities and store fulfilment hitting 51%, India’s online shoppers prove that value and convenience now drive festive growth.

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Mumbai, XX November, 2025: Fynd, an unified commerce platform backed by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, today released its Festive Season Report 2025, revealing how the country’s online retail landscape is shifting from discount-driven growth to operational efficiency and smarter fulfillment. 

With e-commerce penetration projected to cross 11% of total retail sales in 2025, India’s retail ecosystem is witnessing a wave of digital transformation fueled by broader access, convenience, and affordability. The growth during this festive season (September–October 2025) shopping period - marked by celebrations such as Onam, Navratri, Dussehra, Karwa Chauth and Diwali was powered by value-conscious consumers, the rise of Tier 3 markets, and the rapid adoption of omnichannel fulfillment models.

Drawing insights from over 60 brands across leading marketplaces such as Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, AJIO, Nykaa, and Tata CLiQ, the report tracks performance across apparel, footwear, and fashion accessories categories. The findings reveal a maturing market — one where price sensitivity is giving way to value-driven confidence, convenience, and operational agility.

Among the top-performing regions, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh led in order volumes, while Gujarat showed steady growth as a rising demand hub. Southern states, led by Karnataka, contributed significantly to both demand and fulfilment, with Bengaluru and Hyderabad ranking among the top metro contributors. The region also stood out for leading the country in digital payment adoption. Overall, digital payments accounted for 53% of total festive season transactions, while cash-on-delivery remained popular in smaller cities, underscoring India’s hybrid retail reality where rapid digital adoption and traditional payment preferences continue to coexist.

Key Insights:

• Footwear surges: Footwear rose from 7% to 33% of total festive sales, signalling growing consumer confidence in online fashion beyond apparel
• Semi-urban demand leads: Tier 2 and 3 cities together contributed 65% of total orders, with Tier 3 alone driving 46%
• Marketplace duopoly persists: Myntra and Flipkart together captured 89% of order volumes, reaffirming their leadership in fashion e-commerce
• Regional dominance: Myntra emerged as the most popular platform across the Northeast, while Southern states led digital payment adoption
• Discounts rationalized: The average discount rate fell from 44% in 2024 to 34% in 2025 as marketplaces balanced aggressive promotions with profitability
• Returns improve: Returns and RTO rates dropped sharply — Amazon halved returns to 8% and RTOs to 2%, setting a new post-sale benchmark
• Omnichannel milestone: Store-based fulfilment matched warehouse fulfilment (51% vs 49%) for the first time, preventing nearly 4% of potential sales loss through better cross-location routing

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“India’s e-commerce story is unfolding on its own terms—built on speed, proximity, and precision. This festive season proved that the real levers of growth are operational, not promotional—stores doubling as micro-warehouses, networks placing inventory closer to demand, disciplined pricing anchored in everyday value, and trust-driven payments,” said Farooq Adam, Founder, Fynd. “The brands that will win from here won't chase discounts; they’ll design for India’s regional realities, serve rising demand from smaller cities with faster fulfillment, and build prepaid trust. That is the uniquely Indian model of profitable and resilient scale we’re creating.”

Beyond topline growth, the findings underline a broader structural evolution in how brands are approaching festive commerce. From rationalized discounting and improved logistics efficiency to regional diversification and digital payment adoption, the report paints a picture of a market moving beyond festive spikes to year-round operational excellence. For retailers, the message is clear — the next phase of growth will be powered by agility, omnichannel readiness, and sharper consumer segmentation.

Globally, the report places India within a context of “cautious optimism” observed in mature markets, where consumers are prioritizing essentials and value-led purchases. Yet, India stands out with its blend of affordability, digital adoption, and regional diversity, making it one of the most dynamic e-commerce markets worldwide.

About Fynd

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Fynd is an AI-native retail technology company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It serves over 20,000+ stores and 300+ enterprise retailers and offers a modular commerce stack that unifies in-store, online, and logistics operations. Backed by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, Fynd is expanding across the GCC, Africa, and Southeast Asia to power next-generation retail experiences. For more information, visit www.fynd.com.

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The rise of Style Baazar

When affordability meets style, magic happens—and Style Baazar is proof of that! The journey began in 2014 with a single store in Berhampore, West Bengal. It quickly charmed its way into homes across India by offering trendy and budget-friendly fashion for men, women, and children.
Fast forward to 2024, and Style Baazar boasts 200+ stores across India, including Odisha, Bihar, Tripura, Assam, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh and covers a whopping 1.2 million square feet of retail space. Now that’s a true success story!

The need for change: A game plan for scaling up

As Style Baazar expanded, Sarfaraz Nawaz, the mastermind behind ecommerce and omnichannel strategies, was on the lookout for new growth opportunities.

That’s when Fynd Store OS entered the picture and he seized the opportunity.Sarfaraz spotted the potential of in-store retail tech for endless aisle and quickly jumped on board to supercharge Style Baazar’s growth and operations.

Why Fynd Store OS was the perfect fit

Now that Style Baazar knew the solution had potential, picking the right tech partner to make it happen was the next big move.
Style Baazar sifted through several other solutions but found their match in Fynd Store OS.Here’s what sealed the deal:

Pre-integrated logistics: Fynd Store OS came with built-in third-party logistics integrations—no extra syncing drama, no logistics headaches—everything just clicked.

Real-time inventory visibility: The promise was simple—always know what’s in stock, and where, at all times, across all your stores.

Scalable solution: Growing from 30 stores to 200 stores? Bring it on! Fynd Store OS supported Style Baazar’s aggressive store expansion strategy, and efficiently onboarded new outlets.

WhatsApp collection-sharing: Style Baazar loved this feature for creating custom shoppable catalogs and sharing directly on WhatsApp. This meant opening up sales opportunities well beyond store boundaries—turning every chat into a potential sale.

Helpful and supportive team: Fynd’s experts totally won Style Baazar’s trust—their approach, expertise, and dedication built a strong faith that they were making the right choice for their tech journey (and oh, did it pay off? Keep reading!)

Pilot to progress: And the growth begins!

Style Baazar started small with a pilot of 30 stores in May 2023. The results? Instant success. By December 2024, they had expanded to 199 stores.Since then, order volumes and sales have been on a roll. Style Baazar's bold store expansion strategy kept fueling its growth!
Now that Style Baazar knew the solution had potential, picking the right tech partner to make it happen was the next big move. Style Baazar sifted through several other solutions but found their match in Fynd Store OS.

Here’s what sealed the deal: Pre-integrated logistics: Fynd Store OS came with built-in third-party logistics integrations—no extra syncing drama, no logistics headaches—everything just clicked.Real-time inventory visibility: The promise was simple—always know what’s in stock, and where, at all times, across all your stores. Scalable solution: Growing from 30 stores to 200 stores? Bring it on! Fynd Store OS supported Style Baazar’s aggressive store expansion strategy, and efficiently onboarded new outlets.WhatsApp collection-sharing: Style Baazar loved this feature for creating custom shoppable catalogs and sharing directly on WhatsApp. This meant opening up sales opportunities well beyond store boundaries—turning every chat into a potential sale. Helpful and supportive team: Fynd’s experts totally won Style Baazar’s trust—their approach, expertise, and dedication built a strong faith that they were making the right choice for their tech journey (and oh, did it pay off? Keep reading!)

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