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'Premiumisation remained a defining trend this festive season'
Financial Express Pune
|October 28, 2025
As festive shopping spreads beyond metros, smaller cities are driving record growth for Amazon India.
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The 2025 Great Indian Festival saw 2.76 billion customer visits, with nearly 70% from tier 2 and 3 cities, reflecting a shift towards premium choices and faster deliveries. Saurabh Srivastava, vice-president, Amazon India, discusses with Geetika Srivastava the evolving shopping trends, the role of Al, and Amazon’s focus on convenience and value. Excerpts:
What emerging consumer patterns have you seen in tier 2 & 3 cities this festive season, and how is their shopping behaviour different?
During Amazon Great Indian Festival 2025, Amazon India recorded over 2.76 billion customer visits, with 70% from tier 2 and 3 cities, shopping for everything from smartphones and smart TVs to sarees, festive decor, beauty products, and everyday essentials. This year also saw the highest-ever number of sellers registering sales, spanning diverse regions such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttara-khand, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, West Bengal, Goa and Gujarat. Two-day deliveries to Prime members in tier 2 and 3 cities grew by 37% year-on-year. Premiumisation remained a defining trend. Premium smartphones (above ₹30,000) grew by 30%, with 65% coming from tier 2 and 3 cities. Fashion and beauty saw upto 95% yo-y growth in these cities. Amazon Bazaar saw new customers grow by over 400%, with over 65% of users from tier 2 and 3+ cities. Seller success also reached a new high, with the highest-ever participation of small and medium businesses.
Amazon launched Rufus, its GenAI-powered shopping assistant in India. How has Al adoption impacted shopping behaviour?
This story is from the October 28, 2025 edition of Financial Express Pune.
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