The festive season has a soundtrack of its own. Dhol beats, tashe and cultural bangers fill the air. But we want to draw your attention towards the sale announcements, the countdowns, cashback offers and the promise of a deal too good to miss. Amazon’s Great Indian Festival, Flipkart’s Big Billion Days and Myntra’s Big Fashion Festival are competing for consumer attention, alongside festive offers from Meesho, AJIO, Nykaa and other e-commerce platforms. These baits, like the festive beats, are difficult to ignore. One could always find another reason to shop, another offer to unlock and another discount to compare.
According to Datum Intelligence’s Festive Barometer 2026, India’s online festive sales are expected to grow 25-29 per cent this year, reaching `1.5-1.55 lakh crore. Interestingly, the growth is projected to come from more orders rather than larger baskets. The forecast points to a season where platforms have more transactions to win, but consumers are not necessarily spending more on each purchase.
Yet, amid all the festive fanfare, one thing stands out: the offers across platforms look remarkably similar. With discounts, cashback and bank deals competing within much the same range, what makes a consumer choose one platform over another? What makes an app relevant enough to open and trustworthy enough to buy from, even when a competing platform promises a similar deal?
“When every platform has a sale, the differentiators become trust, assortment, discovery, delivery reliability, returns, authenticity and sheer ease of buying. The question is no longer only, ‘Where is this `500 cheaper?’ It is also, ‘Where am I most confident buying this?’” says Saurabh Sankpal, Co-founder and CCO, Re. Awakening Collective. The consumer data he cites puts the distinction into perspective. MiQ’s Festive Shopper Insights 2026 found that brand loyalty influences 38 per cent of shoppers, while deals and discounts influence 34 per cent. YouGov’s festive research found that 49 per cent of urban Indian shoppers prioritise quality for festive purchases, compared with 42 per cent who prioritise price. The gap suggests that a competitive offer does not necessarily settle the choice. When the saving is similar, a brand’s existing relationship with the consumer can carry weight.
Arnab Mitra, Chairman and Managing Director, Liqvd Asia, sees the same challenge from the standpoint of the shopping experience. “Price still matters, but it is increasingly the entry ticket rather than the differentiator,” he says. For Mitra, the opportunity lies in reducing the effort involved in making a purchase. “Consumers do not necessarily want thousands of choices. They want platforms that help them find the right product quickly and confidently.” Offering more choices is one thing, helping consumers decide among those choices is another.
Amazon is one example of how platforms are approaching this problem. Its use of Rufus for conversational product discovery, Lens AI, price-history tracking, review highlights and buying guides enable consumers to enjoy a seamless shopping experience. Amazon is also promoting faster fulfilment through Amazon Now.
Saurabh Srivastava, Vice President, Amazon India, describes the company’s proposition as “a combination of selection, convenience, speed and value.” According to Amazon’s opening-day update for the Great Indian Festival 2026, products ordered grew 100 per cent year-on-year, with demand coming from every pin code in India. The company also reported that, across more than 120 cities served by Amazon Now, one in two products was delivered within minutes. “From metros to the smallest towns—Bharat is choosing to shop on Amazon.in for the best deals, the widest selection and the fastest deliveries,” Srivastava said. The figures are company-reported, and the statement reflects Amazon’s own assessment of its performance. For the wider market, the question is whether selection and fulfilment can give consumers a reason to choose the platform even when another app offers a comparable discount.
Not every platform is trying to establish preference through the same proposition. Sankpal points to Flipkart’s ‘Luck Badal Sakta Hai, Yahan Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai’ campaign as an attempt to make Big Billion Days an entertainment property rather than simply a collection of product offers. The difference lies in how the sale itself is presented to consumers. When discount claims begin to sound alike, a recognisable campaign identity can give a platform another way to attract attention.
Nykaa’s approach centres on a different consideration: authenticity. Its direct sourcing from brands and authorised distributors, alongside content and creator-led discovery, gives the beauty platform a proposition beyond price. For a shopper concerned about product genuineness, the decision may involve confidence in what they are buying as much as the size of the savings. Here, Sankpal says, category expertise and credibility offer a different basis for preference than a broad, entertainment-led sale campaign.
Fashion platforms face a different challenge because the purchase is often tied to personal taste and the occasion. Mitra points to Myntra and AJIO as platforms building stronger category associations. Myntra’s Big Fashion Festival focuses on fashion discovery and shopping occasions, while AJIO’s ‘Festival Is Festivalling’ campaign combines festive fashion with a large brand assortment and AJIO Rush delivery. These are distinct approaches to making the platform relevant to the shopper, rather than relying entirely on the discount attached to a product.
Myntra is also betting on the breadth of its assortment. A Myntra Spokeperson shared, “This year’s edition of Big Fashion Festival sees 2X more selections than the previous edition, alongside 100+ new launches.” The platform’s offering includes M-Now, with deliveries starting in 30 minutes, as well as Glamstream, Ultimate Glam Clan and AI Styling. The combination puts product choice and discovery alongside fulfilment.
AJIO’s stated proposition places greater emphasis on self-expression. An AJIO spokesperson explains, “Festive shopping is no longer just a price game. While offers and discounts remain important, consumers are increasingly looking for discovery, relevance and inspiration alongside value. At AJIO, we see our role differently and not simply as a place to shop for the festive season, but as a destination that helps consumers discover how they want to celebrate and express themselves.”
The distinction between the two fashion propositions is worth noting. Myntra’s spokesperson highlights a wider selection and new launches, while AJIO’s spokesperson stresses inspiration and the personal expression associated with festive dressing. Both are company-stated approaches, rather than proof that either platform has a stronger hold on consumers. But they point to a consideration beyond price: shoppers may choose a platform because it helps them find a product that suits their tastes, not merely because it costs less.
Mitra also credits exclusivity as a way to build platform preference. Exclusive launches, curated collections, hard-to-find brands and early access can give consumers a reason to open one app before another, making the platform itself part of the appeal rather than just a place to complete a transaction.
Discovery sometimes begins outside the shopping app. Mitra cites Amazon Fashion data showing that around 70% of its Gen Z shoppers discover fashion through creators and social platforms rather than search, while nearly two in three trust creators more than brand communication. By the time a shopper opens a marketplace, their preferences may already have been shaped by a creator, a trend or a recommendation.
A lot of the deciding factors are just product specializations or customer experiences or building a brand salience. Sakpal argues, “Those may sound like product-experience questions rather than advertising questions, but today they are the same thing. Fynd’s 2026 festive analysis also argues that deep discounting alone is becoming less decisive, with inventory availability and faster fulfilment emerging as important differentiators.” The mistake platforms make, he adds, is trying to outshout each other with the same vocabulary like 40 per cent off, bank offer, cashback, limited time.
When every platform has a sale, the competition is no longer just about who can offer the biggest reduction. It is about what each platform gives consumers to choose beyond the price. Discounts can make a purchase attractive at the moment. As Sankpal puts it, “Price gets you into consideration. Confidence gets you the click. Habit gets you the next click.” A distinct reason to return is what platforms still have to earn.
