InMobi sees AI shopping assistants reshaping India’s 2026 festive buying
InMobi says four in five shoppers are seeking AI-powered shopping assistants, while 92% of surveyed urban consumers used an AI shopping tool in the past month. It forecasts average festive transaction values could rise 46% to ₹24,020, with apparel, jewellery and grocery leading intent.
What happened
InMobi forecasts strong AI-assisted festive shopping in India, with high spending intent across segments. Flipkart, BigBasket, Ajio, FirstCry and Myntra are
Key facts
- 4 in 5 shoppers are actively seeking AI-powered shopping assistants
- 3 in 5 shoppers plan festive spending above ₹10,000
- Millennials' enthusiasm for AI recommendations is 10 percentage points higher than Gen Z
- 92% of surveyed urban shoppers used at least one AI shopping tool in the past month
- Average festive transaction size may rise 46% to ₹24,020 from ₹16,500
- 22% of Android users may spend ₹25,000-₹50,000, versus 15% of iOS users
- 50% purchase intent for apparel and footwear
- 40% purchase intent for jewelry
- 37% purchase intent for grocery and daily essentials
Why this matters
Retail platforms, marketplaces and consumer brands should evaluate partnerships or acquisitions in conversational commerce, personalization and AI-led product discovery as festive shopping assistants gain mainstream adoption.
What to watch
- Launches of native AI shopping copilots by Indian marketplaces, quick-commerce platforms, payment apps and major retail chains before festive 2026.
- Reported assistant-influenced conversion rates, average order value uplift, repeat purchase behavior and return/cancellation rates versus conventional search.
- Retailer adoption of structured product data, real-time inventory APIs and AI-readable promotional feeds.
- Growth in regional-language, voice-led and multimodal shopping queries, particularly outside top metro markets.
- Consumer complaints or regulation involving biased recommendations, hidden sponsored placements, hallucinated prices, privacy or unauthorized purchase actions.
- Whether AI-driven recommendations shift demand toward premium and private-label products or intensify price comparison and discounting.
- Prioritize AI shopping assistants around high-consideration festive missions: gifting, outfit building, jewellery comparison, bulk grocery and price-bound shopping.
- Rebuild product catalogs for agentic discovery with clean attributes, regional-language descriptions, compatibility data, occasion tags, inventory freshness and transparent pricing.
- Connect assistants to real-time stock, delivery promises, financing, exchange offers and store availability so recommendations can complete transactions rather than merely inspire.
- Design AI-led bundles and replenishment prompts that increase attachment rates without appearing to manipulate shoppers.
- Shift festive media measurement from clicks to assistant-influenced conversion, basket expansion, return rates, margin mix and customer-service deflection.
- Prepare for higher marketplace dependence by strengthening first-party loyalty, WhatsApp commerce and owned customer data capture.