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

Indians spent about ₹96,017 cr a day digitally this month.

(MINT)

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).