Mumbai: From milk and bananas to iPhones, gold, and roses, India’s shopping carts reached new extremes in 2025. According to Instamart’s fifth annual order analysis, How India Instamarted 2025, quick commerce has evolved far beyond emergency grocery runs, emerging as a trusted destination for both everyday essentials and high-value indulgences—delivered in minutes.
The year saw Instamart shoppers embrace speed, discretion, and convenience at scale. The platform’s top spender clocked over ₹22 lakh in cumulative orders, purchasing everything from 22 iPhone 17s and 24K gold coins to air fryers, dairy products, and mints. At the other end of the spectrum, the smallest cart of the year was a ₹10 printout ordered in Bengaluru, underscoring how quick commerce now caters to needs big and small.
Big Spends, Bigger Statements
Luxury purchases stood out prominently. A Hyderabad user placed the biggest single cart of 2025, spending ₹4.3 lakh on iPhones in one order, while a Mumbaikar bought gold worth ₹15.16 lakh on Instamart. Bengaluru users added sparkle to Diwali shopping by ordering a 1 kg silver brick worth ₹1.97 lakh, and gold orders surged over 400% on Dhanteras compared to 2024, highlighting growing consumer trust in high-value quick-commerce transactions.
Doodh, Butter, and Everyday Staples Still Rule
Despite the rise in premium shopping, daily essentials continued to dominate volumes. India ordered more than four packets of milk per second in 2025, with paneer outperforming cheese and butter closely matching cheese in popularity. Curry leaves, dahi, eggs, bananas, and milk emerged as repeat-order champions, with one Kochi user placing 368 orders of curry leaves alone.
Late-night cravings told their own story, as masala-flavoured potato chips became the most-ordered item after dark across nine of the top ten cities—outshining even smartphones.
Shopping at Record Speed
Speed remained Instamart’s defining promise. In Lucknow, a pack of instant noodles was delivered in under two minutes, while smartphones reached customers in as little as three minutes. During the iPhone 17 launch, users in Pune and Ahmedabad received their devices faster than many could watch unboxing videos online.
India’s Quirks, Delivered
Consumer behaviour reflected India’s diversity and humour. One Chennai account spent over ₹1 lakh on condoms across 228 orders, while September emerged as the peak month for condom purchases, with a 24% spike. Bengaluru earned the title of tipping capital, with one user tipping ₹68,600 to delivery partners, followed by Chennai at ₹59,505.
Valentine’s Day saw romance delivered at scale, with rose orders peaking at 666 per minute nationwide. Bengaluru alone recorded 1,780 orders per minute for roses and chocolates combined, while Mondays surprisingly emerged as India’s favourite gifting day.
Tier-II Cities Drive Growth
Tier-II cities played a pivotal role in Instamart’s expansion. Rajkot recorded 10x year-on-year growth, Ludhiana grew 7x, and Bhubaneswar rose 4x, while health and wellness categories surged sharply in cities such as Bhopal, Varanasi, and Warangal.
The Year of the Smart Cart
Protein bars, shakes, and yoghurts dominated wellness purchases, Korean flavours saw explosive growth, and chai reaffirmed its status as India’s preferred beverage, outselling coffee across major cities. Searches ranged from drones and petrol to Airbus, reflecting both curiosity and aspiration in India’s digital shopping habits.
Instamart’s Quick India Movement sale alone helped shoppers save nearly ₹500 crore, with first-time buyers from Tier-II and Tier-III cities accounting for a third of all orders.
As 2025 comes to a close, Instamart’s data paints a vivid picture of a nation shopping at the speed of thought—snacking, splurging, gifting, and planning ahead with equal enthusiasm. In a year where gold, gadgets, groceries, and roses shared the same cart, quick commerce firmly established itself as a lifestyle, not just a convenience.
