The report notes that food delivery is consolidating its role as a volume-stable, habit-led channel, while quick commerce is emerging as a frequency amplifier, capturing urgency-driven use cases
Emphasising that Christmas 2025 showed that India’s on-demand economy is not just growing, but specialising, a report stated that festive days are no longer about outsized spikes, they are stress tests of channel maturity.
Redseer Strategy Consultants, in its report, highlighted that Christmas delivered a clear uplift across both food delivery and quick commerce. On 25th December, food delivery platforms recorded a steady festive uplift, with Gross Order Value (GOV) scaling to around 1.3-times (1.3x) of business as usual (BAU) levels (H1FY26). This growth was primarily volume-led, supported by a 1.2x increase in order volumes, while Average Order Value (AOV) saw only a modest improvement.
“What stands out is not the magnitude, but the consistency. Year-on-year order growth on Christmas broadly tracked the underlying monthly run-rate, reinforcing that Christmas has become a dependable, high-engagement day, rather than a disruptive demand event,” Nikhil Dalal, Associate Partner, stated in the Redseer report.
By contrast, Quick Commerce showcased a sharper and more distinctive festive response. GMV reached around 1.3x of BAU levels (September to November25), driven entirely by higher order volumes, with AOV remaining broadly flat. Unlike food delivery, where baskets expanded marginally, quick commerce demand was characterised by more shopping missions, not bigger ones. Festive urgency translated into higher frequency, multiple, small, occasion-led orders rather than consolidated baskets.
The report pointed out that platforms actively designed for this behaviour with sharp entry price points, reduced minimum order values, lower no-fee thresholds and strong festive merchandising encouraged incremental purchases. Seasonal essentials performed well, but so did adjacencies, beauty and personal care, fragrances, toys.
Food delivery is consolidating its role as a volume-stable, habit-led channel, where festive occasions sustain engagement but rarely redefine demand curves. On the other hand, quick commerce is emerging as a frequency amplifier, capturing urgency-driven use cases through design choices that prioritise speed, access, and repeat missions over ticket size, the report highlighted.
