Diwali is past, but shopping season is roaring ahead

India's consumption engine appears to be humming well past the Diwali rush, with digital payments showing none of the usual post-festival fatigue.

- Shayan Ghosh

Daily spends through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), cards and wallets in November have edged above October levels, raising an early question: is this simply the tail-end of festive buying, or a sign that demand is finally breaking out of months of caution?

So far in this month—up to 21 November—Indians have spent an average of ₹96,017 crore a day through digital channels, compared with ₹94,385.85 crore in October and ₹89,675.18 crore in September, according to Reserve Bank of India data. The run-rate has risen steadily since August. Last year, the comparable figures were ₹82,578 crore in October and ₹77,572 crore in November.

Average spending during the Diwali week—18-24 October—was at ₹85,228 crore.

Digital payments are widely used as a proxy for on-ground consumption, though rising debt repayments and investment flows through UPI mean the headline numbers capture more than just daily spending.

In October, people paid ₹50,614 crore to debt collection agencies, and bought digital gold for ₹2,290 crore. Meanwhile, nearly 50% of all UPI spends are clubbed together as an undefined category called 'others' by the the National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI).

Still, experts believe that the momentum will continue till December and January.