2024 India Festive Report

The 2024 festive season in India is shaping up to be one of the most dynamic in recent years, driven by the country’s economic recovery and evolving consumer behaviors. With the economy projected to grow by around 7.6% in Q3 and inflation easing, this year’s Diwali period holds even greater potential than the 2023 season.

E-commerce, particularly mobile-driven purchases, is expected to surge, fueled by the increasing adoption of digital payments and the growth of quick commerce.

Notably, women are expected to play a larger role in festive spending, as their financial independence continues to rise. Impulse buying is becoming a stronger trend this year, as consumers increasingly prioritize quick, gratifying purchases over meticulously planned shopping. This shift is supported by the rapid expansion of quick commerce, allowing for same-day or next-day delivery, which aligns with consumers’ growing appetite for convenience.

And the mobile user base continues to grow. India’s smartphone market saw marginal growth in 2023, with premium segment sales and 5G adoption driving an 11% boost in shipments by the latter half of the year. However, 2024 may still face challenges such as inflationary pressures and inventory constraints. Despite this, consumer optimism remains high, with households expected to spend ₹1.85 trillion during the festive season, as per HT Media’s 2024 Consumer Trends report. Categories like home decor, fashion, and electronics are poised to lead this surge, with 66% of consumers planning to buy new smartphones.Financial empowerment continues to grow, supported by festive bonuses and higher disposable incomes.

Additionally, there’s a notable shift towards premium and sustainable products, reflecting changing consumer preferences. Advertisers are keen to leverage these trends, launching targeted campaigns early in the season. With heightened economic activity across retail, travel, and electronics, Diwali 2024 is forecasted to see record-breaking sales, making it a pivotal year for both online and in-store promotions​.

Remarketing remains a strong performer during the holidays, especially on Diwali. With new user acquisition slowing down, marketers should focus on re-engaging existing users post-holidays through personalized remarketing strategies. 

Push notifications with relevant discounts or reminders about abandoned carts can entice users back, while targeted email campaigns with personalized offers can spark renewed interest. Since NOI drops significantly after Diwali, remarketing becomes crucial, particularly in the second and fourth weeks post-festival, when users are more likely to convert.

Categories like Shopping and Food & Drink saw a balanced mix between non-organic installs (NOI) and remarketing, making both strategies key during Diwali. As new installs slow post-festival, marketers in these sectors should focus on remarketing and re-engagement to keep the momentum going. Entertainment apps followed a similar trend, with NOI around 76-80%, while remarketing steadily supported conversions.

On the other hand, Finance and Gaming apps leaned more on new user acquisition, with remarketing underutilized. For Gaming marketers (with up to 91% NOI), this is a great opportunity—boosting remarketing after Diwali could help re-engage users and drive longer-term retention for the holiday season.

Unlike last year, where there was a clearer shift toward NOI pre-festival, this year saw a more stable split between organic and non-organic installs throughout the festive season. Organic installs consistently led the way, staying around 57-58% leading up to Diwali, dipping slightly to 55% during the holiday. 

Meanwhile, NOI peaked at 45% during Diwali, making it the prime time for user acquisition through paid campaigns. After the festival, organic installs reclaimed their dominance, but non-organic installs remained steady at around 42-44%, highlighting the continued importance of paid efforts even post-Diwali.

Across app categories, Shopping, Food & Drink, and Finance apps saw notable bumps in NOI during the week of Diwali, showing that paid campaigns were critical for driving installs during the festive period. However, post-Diwali, Finance and Food & Drink apps quickly returned to their organic growth patterns, with organic installs jumping back to over 60-70% in the following weeks. 

In contrast, Shopping and Gaming apps maintained a more balanced split between organic and paid installs even after the festival, reflecting the ongoing need for paid acquisition efforts. Entertainment apps, on the other hand, continued to thrive with organic installs throughout the season, indicating that user interest was largely content-driven.

Given that organic installs reign supreme, marketers should focus on re-engagement throughout the Diwali season to capitalize on returning users.

Nearly 50% of ad spend during the Diwali season takes place in the four weeks following the festival, highlighting the importance of post-Diwali marketing efforts. While brands ramp up campaigns leading into Diwali, they continue to heavily invest after the festival to capitalize on extended sales, remarketing, and consumer engagement. 

With ad spend peaking in the third week post-Diwali, it’s clear that brands are targeting shoppers who are still active after the holiday, taking advantage of post-festival offers and deals. For marketers, this post-Diwali window is crucial for maintaining momentum and driving conversions well beyond the festive week.

Most app categories see a surge after the festival. Entertainment enjoys steady engagement leading up to Diwali, peaking at 12.74%, but drops off post-holiday as users shift focus. Finance and Food & Drink see a sharp rise in ad spend after Diwali, with Finance peaking in the third post-Diwali week at 15.49% and Food & Drink hitting 16.79% by Week 4, indicating increased post-holiday spending and celebrations. 

Shopping dips slightly during Diwali but rebounds strongly afterward as post-festival deals drive engagement. Travel sees the biggest jump, with ad spend skyrocketing to 20.3% in Week 2 post-Diwali, as people book trips after the holiday. In fact, a whopping 72.58% of ad spend is in the post-Diwali period.

Paid media had a mixed year in 2023. The first quarter saw strong growth, with the share of paying users from paid media jumping by 18% compared to 2022. However, things took a dip in Q2, with a 14% decline in Android paid media share, signaling a loss in momentum. Overall, H1 2023 showed a modest 2% growth vs H1 2022, but the decline carried over into 2024, where the paid media share of paying users dropped further, hitting just 2% in May. While paid media started strong, it struggled to maintain its effectiveness.

Looking at category-specific trends, Gaming and Finance apps saw steep declines in paid media performance, especially in 2024. By May, Gaming dropped to just 0.6% share of paying users from paid media and Finance hit 2%, signaling a sharp drop in effectiveness. In contrast, Shopping and Entertainment apps performed much better, with paid media share steadily growing in 2024. Shopping peaked at 4% in June, and Entertainment hit 3%, making them standout categories for paid media campaigns. Food & Drink had a more inconsistent year, with highs in early 2024 but a decline by mid-year. Marketers will need to adjust strategies depending on the vertical to regain momentum in 2024.

We saw a steady flow of paying users during the 2023 holiday season, with a slight increase in the week leading up to and during Diwali. In the lead-up to the festival, SOPU fluctuated slightly, starting at 3.65% on October 15 and dipping to 3.52% the week before Diwali.

However, the week of Diwali itself saw a slight uptick, hitting 3.71% on November 5 and staying steady at 3.61% during the festival. Post-Diwali, the SOPU remained consistent, hovering around 3.5-3.68% through December. Overall, the holiday season brought steady engagement across categories, with users continuing to spend well into December.

Naturally, Finance and Shopping apps saw the most notable spikes during Diwali week. Finance jumped from 0.64% to 1.03%, while Shopping rose to 2.32%, as users took advantage of festival-related purchases and financial transactions. Food & Drink and Gaming apps maintained the highest SOPU throughout the holiday season, consistently hovering around 7.7-8.3%, driven by increased spending on food delivery and in-app purchases. Meanwhile, Entertainment apps saw gradual growth post-Diwali, increasing from 0.32% in mid-October to 0.48% by December.

As expected, online activity shifted to offline festivities post-Diwali as users focused on family time—following a familiar trend from 2022. In 2023, app sessions steadily rose leading up to the festival, peaking at 12.61% during Diwali week, up from 11.80% four weeks prior, driven by increased shopping and event preparations. However, post-Diwali, there was a noticeable drop, with sessions falling to 10.02% in the week after and remaining lower throughout November as users shifted away from digital activities.

This trend was consistent across categories, with users shifting from shopping and entertainment to travel and finance management as the holiday wrapped up. 

Shopping and Finance apps saw their highest engagement in the weeks leading up to Diwali, reflecting increased activity as users prepared for the festival. 

Travel apps saw the most growth after Diwali, with sessions peaking at 13.61% post-festival, suggesting increased bookings for vacations or trips home. 

Meanwhile, Entertainment apps had the opposite dynamic, with sessions surging during Diwali, reaching 16.66%, but quickly declined afterward as users returned to their routines. 
Food & Drink and Gaming apps remained steady throughout the festive season, with consistent engagement both before and after Diwali.

Most Android app categories saw impressive surges in remarketing conversions during the first half of 2023. Food & Drink apps continued to climb, with monthly conversions rising from 3.35% in January 2022 to 16.01% by June 2023, reflecting the ongoing boom in food delivery services. Gaming apps saw a major Q2 surge, jumping to 22.13% in April 2023, thanks to effective promotions, although it dipped slightly by June (14.29%).

Shopping apps also showed steady growth, reaching 11.62% in May, driven by post-Diwali deals. Finance apps maintained steady progress, increasing from 6.93% in January 2022 to 11.1% in June 2023, as users embraced digital transactions. However, Entertainment apps struggled, despite a slight recovery in Q2, with conversions still down, emphasizing the need for stronger remarketing strategies.

As user acquisition slows down after Diwali, personalized remarketing campaigns can be a game-changer for keeping users engaged and driving conversions. Remarketing conversions peaked at 12% in the third week post-Diwali. While the weeks leading up to the festival showed consistent conversion rates around 11%, the real boost came after the holiday, once again highlighting the importance of post-Diwali remarketing. 

This trend held especially true for Shopping and Entertainment apps, which saw a post-Diwali rebound in remarketing conversions. Both categories dipped during Diwali week but surged afterward, peaking at 15% in the third week post-Diwali, showing that users were eager to engage with post-festival deals and content. 

Food & Drink apps, on the other hand, enjoyed steady growth throughout the entire season, with conversions rising consistently after Diwali. Gaming and Finance conversions were stable pre-Diwali, but conversions dropped off post-festival, indicating that remarketing efforts may need a boost after the holiday.