Quick-commerce platforms saw a sharp rise in demand for festive essentials during Ganesh Chaturthi, as consumers increasingly turned to online platforms for everything from idols and flowers to puja supplies and sweets.
Swiggy Instamart reported a 176 per cent year-on-year jump in demand for eco-friendly clay idols during the festival. Ready-to-place clay idols accounted for 90 per cent of demand, while paint-your-own eco idols made up the remainder.
The trend was particularly pronounced outside traditional Ganesh Chaturthi markets. Delhi recorded a 1,718 per cent increase in eco-Ganpati orders, followed by Kolkata at 1,305 per cent, Noida at 1,136 per cent and Bhubaneswar at 1,132 per cent.
Modaks also emerged as a major festive category. Mawa was the most-ordered flavour on Instamart, with demand rising 145 per cent year-on-year, followed by classic, kesar, kaju, assorted and amba variants. Mawa led demand in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad, while Delhi and Gurgaon preferred kesar. Pune, Chennai, Kolkata and Nagpur leaned towards classic modaks.
The platform also saw distinct peaks in demand through the morning of September 14. Flower orders peaked at 7:42 am at 868 orders a minute, followed by eco-friendly idols at 8:48 am. Puja essentials peaked at 9:45 am, while modak orders reached their highest point at 10:39 am.
Flipkart Minutes, meanwhile, reported a 2.5x increase in demand across festive categories, including décor, puja essentials, ethnic wear, sweets and gifting. Ganesh idol orders rose fivefold, while modak demand increased fourfold.
The platform said Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities such as Patna, Lucknow and Guwahati recorded eightfold growth in sales during the festive period. Gen Z demand grew threefold, with eco-friendly idols, fruits, flowers and dry fruits among the most-ordered categories.
The data points to quick commerce is increasingly becoming part of consumers’ last-minute and routine festive shopping, with the 6 am-11 am window emerging as the busiest period on Flipkart Minutes.
Published on September 16, 2026
