Diwali purchasing: Tier 3 cities rule online shopping; account for over 50% orders

This year, India’s online was largely powered by , which accounted for nearly three-quarters of all . Tier 3 cities alone contributed more than half of the total, industry data shows.

Logistics intelligence platform ClickPost analysed over 4.25 crore shipments and found that non-metro regions are now the fastest-growing drivers of festive e-commerce. The data underlines the rising importance of Bharat in shaping order volumes and growth.

"The scale of non-metro India is staggering. Tier 3 cities alone accounted for 50.7% of all orders in 2025. Combined with Tier 2 (24.8%), Bharat represents nearly three-quarters (74.7%) of the total order volume, confirming its role as the undisputed engine of e-commerce scale," the report said, as quoted by PTI.

Festive buying was boosted by events like Durga Puja, which saw fashion orders jump 14.3% in the pre-Puja week, and Karwa Chauth, when cosmetics purchases almost doubled fashion spending.

Despite rising volumes, India’s logistics networks maintained an average delivery time of 2.83 days. Same-day hyperlocal deliveries also grew 42% year-on-year, reaching 8.7% of all orders.

Cash on delivery remained popular in Tier 3 cities, making up 52% of orders, while prepaid digital payments dominate high-value purchases nationwide. The average order value increased 32.5% from Rs 3,281 in 2024 to Rs 4,346 in 2025, PTI said, citing the report.

"The smart players are already preparing for next year’s curve: same-day-blueprint in hundreds of towns, tailored assortments, and delivery models built for both 1 lakh orders and 1 minute gratification," said Naman Vijay, co-founder and CEO of ClickPost.

ClickPost manages over 50 million shipments monthly for more than 450 brands, including Nykaa, Puma, Caratlane, and Walmart, across India, Southeast Asia, MENA, and the US.