Festive shoppers lift budgets, but trust and research outweigh discounts: InMobi study

InMobi Advertising’s survey of 4,000 Gen Z consumers across 18 states finds 77% have raised festive budgets year on year. While 73% buy online, reviews, search and social content guide discovery; 80% want an AI shopping assistant and 82% expect brands to be honest and transparent.

— Source publishedThu, 24 Sept, 2026, 21:33 IST·First seen Thu, 24 Sept, 2026, 21:52 IST·Source Financial Express · BrandWagon

What happened

InMobi Advertising · Indian festive shoppers are raising budgets but prioritising brand trust, quality and research over discounts. Online reviews, search and

Key facts

  • 77% of festive shoppers increased budgets from last year
  • 27% cite brand trust as the top purchase consideration
  • 75% consult online product reviews
  • 73% purchase online
  • 80% want an AI shopping assistant

Why this matters

Prioritize transparent product information, credible reviews, search and social discovery content, and AI-assisted cross-channel journeys to convert higher festive budgets without relying solely on discounts.

What to watch

  • Conversion-rate gap between content-rich product pages and promotion-led landing pages.
  • Search, social and creator-assisted traffic share versus direct and paid-performance traffic.
  • Review volume, rating velocity, return-reason trends and customer-service contacts related to product mismatch.
  • AI-assistant usage, recommendation-to-cart rate and abandonment after AI-led product comparisons.
  • Same-day pickup adoption, order-cancellation rates, promised-versus-actual delivery performance and store inventory accuracy.