FESTIVE SALE FRENZY: HOW DOPAMINE, FOMO AND DIGITAL DESIGN FUEL YOUR CLICKS

The festival that lights up India’s bazaars now lights up its browsers. Each October, e-commerce platforms turn the season into a shopping carnival, with Flipkart’s ‘Big Billion Days’ and Amazon’s ‘Great Indian Festival’ now as much a part of Diwali as sweets and lights.

- SIMARJEET SINGH & SANCHITA KUCHI

Last year, Amazon logged 1.1 billion visits, Flipkart 1.4 billion; Market Xcel expects this year’s sales to top $12 billion, up 23% from 2024. Behind these numbers lies a quiet tension between excitement and restraint—the thrill of a deal versus the small voice asking, “Do I really need this?”

The science of the sale

The thrill of snagging a deal is real—it’s dopamine at work. Each rewarding purchase triggers the brain’s pleasure chemical, driving anticipation, says psychologist Nishtha Jain. Retailers design apps to exploit this: flash sales, countdowns, and spin-the-wheel coupons deliver unpredictable rewards, while urgency and exclusivity push shoppers to chase not the product, but the feeling of winning.

Culture and celebration