45% of Indian Shoppers Plan to Spend More This Festive Season: MiQ Festive Shopper Insights 2026

MiQ, the global programmatic services and technology partner, released its Festive Shopper Insights 2026, a report offering an in-depth look at how festive shoppers in India plan to spend, discover brands and make purchase decisions this season.

The study, based on insights from over 5,700 festive shoppers across India, reveals that this year’s festive season is being shaped by more deliberate spending, an expanding set of brand discovery channels and a media landscape tilting further towards video.

The results showed that 45% of the surveyed shoppers, nearly half, plan to increase their festive spend compared to last year – but this is segmented into fewer impulse purchases and more considered, big-ticket investments. The jewellery category leads purchase intent for 2026, followed by home appliances, while personal gadgets are staging a strong comeback after a softer showing last year.

The report also found distinct regional variations in category demand, underscoring that festive purchase intent differs across India, and signals that advertisers will need more region-specific planning and messaging to maximise campaign relevance and impact for the season.

It further highlights that brand discovery is fragmenting across more touchpoints than ever. AI search tools are emerging as a new discovery channel for 43% of shoppers, while e-commerce platforms stand at 30%, and social media at 27% – all significantly influencing exploration through distinct journeys. The data shows that video formats dominate as the leading channel for festive media investments, and CTV investments in particular reflect this with double digit investment growth in this period.

The key trends noted by MiQ Festive Shopper Insights 2026 are:

Spending is turning more intentional and premium as 45% of Indian shoppers plan to increase their festive spend versus last year.
AI-powered search joins the discovery mix as 43% of shoppers now discover brands through AI search, a channel that barely registered in previous years.
Value still wins, but trust and relevance matter as 38% of shoppers cite brand loyalty as their strongest purchase driver, ahead of deals and discounts (34%) and celebrity endorsements (29%).
Second screens turn shopping into a multi-device habit as 86% of shoppers switch digital activity at least once an hour and 61% use a second device while watching TV, a habit that peaks after 8 pm.
Advertisers chase reach across Video and CTV as video now commands the majority of festive media investment, and the CTV format leads this with double digit growth.

Varun Mohan, Chief Commercial Officer India, MiQ commented, “Every festive season, Indian shoppers tell us something new about how they discover, decide and spend. This year, the story is about intentionality – shoppers are spending more, but with sharper judgement and exploring brands through channels like AI search that barely existed in their consideration set a year ago. For advertisers, that means showing up authentically across an expanding set of touchpoints, from CTV to Social to AI-led discovery, while working harder to earn trust and loyalty in a season where value alone no longer wins the sale.”

With festive media costs rising by as much as 42% in the run-up to the season, the report underscores the need for smarter, unified planning. Campaigns run on MiQ Sigma – MiQ’s AI-powered advertising platform, are outperforming standard programmatic benchmarks, delivering 88% less made-for-advertising (MFA) inventory than the market average and ranking in the top 5% of the industry for ad recall. During Akshay Tritya, a jewellery brand activated on MiQ Sigma saw 59.4% incremental reach through a unified OTT strategy – an early signal of the platform’s potential for the festive season ahead.

Disclaimer: Information mentioned here has not been verified or endorsed by Agency Reporter and is in accordance with the press release shared by the company or their appointed representatives