A report shows that the spike was driven by festive consumption and marquee events, not panic buying or supply-side fears
India’s quick-commerce sector witnessed a sharp surge in demand, with orders rising as much as 100 per cent week-on-week during early March, as the war in West Asia intensified. However, according to Shipsy, an artificial intelligence-native platform for logistics, the spike was driven by festive consumption and marquee events, not panic buying or supply-side fears.
Shipsy analysed more than 2.1 crore orders across 24 major cities processed on its platform. It concluded that the surge coincided with Holi celebrations and the ICC Cricket World Cup Final (6 to 8 March 2026), with all analysed cities, spanning metros and non-metros, recording their highest order volumes during the 1 to 8 March period.
Major metros such as Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Ahmedabad recorded 75 to 100 per cent week-on-week growth in order volumes. Tier 2 and 3 cities emerged as key growth drivers, with Dehradun (+143 per cent), Bhubaneswar (+99 per cent) and Bhagalpur (+90 per cent) outperforming several larger cities.
The report added that despite heightened geopolitical tensions and concerns around supply chains, particularly LPG, the data shows no evidence of crisis-led consumption patterns. Demand followed a predictable, event-led curve, peaking during the festive window and normalising by 15 March, in line with post-event consumption patterns seen after major festivals like Diwali.
With the festive and sporting events concluded, ecommerce demand is expected to stabilise in the coming weeks before the seasonal uptick around Navratri and Ram Navami (6 April).
