Shipment volumes reached 4.10 million in the opening phase of the 2026 festive sale, with Tier 3 cities accounting for 45 per cent of orders and prepaid shipments growing faster than cash-on-delivery
India’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands recorded a 31.4 per cent year-on-year increase in shipment volumes during the opening phase of the 2026 festive sales, with Tier 1 cities and smaller markets contributing to the growth. Shipment volumes rose to 4.10 million from 3.12 million in the corresponding period last year, indicating stronger order activity across the online retail segment.
According to logistics technology platform ClickPost, the findings are based on a fixed cohort of 200 D2C brands that shipped more than 500 forward orders during the comparable festive-sale periods in 2025 and 2026. The platform noted that the 2026 comparison window included a full weekend, unlike the mid-week period in 2025, which may have contributed to the increase.
However, the growth was uneven across businesses. More than one-fifth of the brands recorded a decline of over 25 per cent in shipment volumes, while the median brand registered growth of around 19 per cent. Around half of the brands in the sample reported shipment growth exceeding 25 per cent, and approximately one-third recorded an increase of more than 50 per cent. The top-performing brands nearly doubled their volumes.
Shipment volumes to tier 1 cities increased 37 per cent year-on-year, followed by 34 per cent growth in tier 3 cities and 27 per cent in tier 2 cities. Despite the stronger growth in metropolitan markets, smaller cities continued to account for a significant share of shipments.
Tier 3 cities contributed 45 per cent of total shipments on ClickPost’s network, while tier 2 markets accounted for another 22 per cent. Together, the two categories represented around two-thirds of shipments during the period, suggesting that D2C demand is expanding across both metropolitan centres and smaller markets.
East India emerged as the fastest-growing region, with shipment volumes rising 24.3 per cent year-on-year during the sale window. North, South and West India recorded growth ranging between 4 per cent and 7 per cent. ClickPost said demand trends through the remainder of the festive period and into November would help establish whether East India’s performance reflects a temporary seasonal increase or a more sustained shift in D2C adoption.
Prepaid shipments also outpaced cash-on-delivery (COD) orders, growing 47 per cent year-on-year against a 27 per cent increase in COD shipments. Prepaid orders consequently accounted for 52 per cent of total shipments during the 2026 period, up from 46 per cent in the comparable period last year.
Median basket values remained relatively stable at Rs 1,044 for prepaid orders and Rs 870 for COD orders, indicating that shipment growth was primarily driven by higher order volumes rather than a substantial increase in the median purchase value.
The findings come amid strong festive-season activity reported by major e-commerce marketplaces. Amazon said its Great Indian Festival opened with a 100 per cent increase in orders and more than 440 million visits, while Flipkart reported that its Big Billion Days sale began with 60 per cent more transacting sellers than in the previous year.
While the broader festive-sales environment is supporting online retail activity, the variation in shipment growth across D2C brands suggests that the benefits of seasonal demand remain unevenly distributed.
