Mumbai: As India ushered in the New Year, Instamart witnessed a surge in last-minute shopping that reflected a blend of festive traditions, spontaneous celebrations, and inevitable New Year’s Eve forgetfulness. From humble grapes to high-value electronics and gold, the platform’s real-time data offered a fascinating snapshot of how the country celebrated the final hours of 2025.
Earlier this week, a playful grape-costumed Instamart reminder nudged users about the viral tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight for good luck. Coincidence or not, the reminder struck a chord. On New Year’s Eve, Instamart, along with real-time updates shared by Phani Kishan Addepalli, Co-founder at Swiggy, recorded 235,000 searches for grapes in the first half of the day alone, with searches beginning as early as 5:00 AM. As the evening progressed, grape searches surged 78x, highlighting how even widely known rituals benefit from a timely nudge during celebrations.
As midnight approached, Instamart’s data reflected classic New Year’s Eve panic-buying behaviour. Searches and orders spiked across ice, snacks, mixers, beverages, and party essentials, reinforcing that some party supplies are never stocked enough.
Beyond Metros, Momentum Builds
While metro cities continued to dominate demand, New Year’s Eve shopping momentum expanded rapidly beyond them. Cities such as Lonavla, Karimnagar, Saharanpur, Davanagere, Patiala, and Meerut emerged as high-growth pockets during the evening hours.
Patiala stood out with remarkable orders, including one customer who placed over 200 items in a single day, featuring 108 packs of Kurkure. Another user from the city ordered gold coins worth ₹6 lakh, signalling large-scale celebratory and gifting behaviour through quick commerce.
Big Baskets, Bigger Celebrations
High-value purchases marked the closing hours of 2025. In Bengaluru, a shopper placed a single order worth ₹1.8 lakh, purchasing two iPhones, while another customer ordered protein supplements worth ₹41,000. In Mumbai, a user received gold worth ₹1.45 lakh as a New Year’s gift via Instamart, underlining the growing role of quick commerce in premium and emotional gifting.
Notably, nearly one in nine New Year’s Eve orders on Instamart were placed for friends and family, reinforcing the platform’s relevance in enabling thoughtful, last-minute surprises.
What India Stocked Up On
In the final hour of the year, Instamart recorded dramatic spikes across categories:
- Grapes: 15x
- Cakes: 7x
- BBQ-related items: 6x
- Beverages: 3.5x
- Party glasses: 2.5x
- Pizza bases: 1.8x
- Calendars and planners: 1.5x
Regional preferences also came through strongly, with skewers and coal trending in Pune and Kolkata, while tonic water emerged as the most searched beverage nationwide. Card games saw a 3x spike in searches as celebrations stretched late into the night.
A Year of Loyalty
Closing the year on a celebratory note, Instamart also highlighted its most loyal customers. One standout user placed 4,548 orders in 2025, including 15 orders on New Year’s Eve alone, earning the title of Instamart’s MVP customer of the year.
Reflecting on the trend, Amitesh Jha, CEO, Instamart, said, “2025 was a defining year for Instamart and for Quick Commerce in India. As we head into New Year’s Eve, we are seeing strong momentum nationwide. What began as a Tier-1 convenience is becoming urban utility infrastructure, with strong growth coming from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. New Year’s Eve once again surprises us with orders beyond essentials as Indian consumers turn to quick commerce platforms for every kind of need. Categories such as party supplies, gifting essentials, snacks and beverages, beauty, personal care, and grooming, and viral items such as grapes are seeing high growth on the platform.
“This year, we saw Quick Commerce move beyond groceries and emergency top-ups to become part of daily life. From milk and fresh produce to electronics, gifting, and even gold, consumers ordered it all from Quick Commerce. This shift reinforces our belief that reliability, selection, and trust will continue to shape how India shops. As India steps into 2026, we are positive that quick commerce will continue to grow as a reliable, everyday app in people’s lives, powering spontaneous moments, fulfilling planned needs, and offering unparalleled convenience.”
