Nishant Dalal, Vice President, Consumables, FMCG and Healthcare, Head of BGM, Flipkart, along with Open Secret’s Ahana Gautam, Kapiva’s Anuj Sharma and Plum’s Shankar Prasad, discusses changing festive consumption trends
Flipkart’s Beauty and General Merchandise (BGM) category is witnessing close to 50 per cent year-on-year growth during the festive season, as consumers increasingly shift towards e-commerce for everyday, lifestyle and need-led purchases.
The growth trends were shared during a roundtable addressed by Nishant Dalal, Vice President, Consumables, FMCG and Healthcare, Head of BGM, Flipkart; Ahana Gautam, Founder & CEO, Open Secret; Anuj Sharma, Co-founder, Kapiva; and Shankar Prasad, Founder, Plum.
According to Flipkart, the platform has supported the growth of more than 150 D2C brands through its marketplace ecosystem, covering brand onboarding, assortment building and long-term growth. Homegrown brands are also seeing greater traction beyond metros, with Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets recording 60 per cent growth.
Tier 2+ markets recorded 40 per cent YoY growth in August 2026, with cities including Kamrup, Cuttack, Medinipur, East Godavari and Mangalore emerging as notable growth markets.
D2C brands across Flipkart’s BGM category recorded nearly 40 per cent YoY growth in orders during July-August 2026. Auto Accessories was the fastest-growing D2C category, recording 71 per cent YoY growth, followed by Beauty & Personal Care at 40 per cent and Baby Care at 26 per cent.
Gen Z Reshapes Festive Discovery
Gen Z accounted for more than 40 per cent of festive BGM customers in 2025, underlining the cohort’s growing influence on product discovery and purchase decisions.
The consumer journey is increasingly social-first and research-led, with reels, user-generated content, peer recommendations and micro-influencers playing a larger role than conventional brand messaging.
The shift towards digital discovery is also reflected in beauty. Plum Founder Shankar Prasad highlighted the changing nature of beauty consumption, with skincare remaining the brand’s largest demand driver on Flipkart. Serums, face washes and body lotions are seeing strong demand as consumers increasingly search based on ingredients, skin concerns and desired outcomes rather than broad product categories.
Across Flipkart Beauty, the face serum category has grown more than 80 per cent, while face wash sales increased 123 per cent YoY in 2025 and gel moisturisers grew 120 per cent.
Gen Z now accounts for nearly 60 per cent of beauty purchases on Flipkart, with more than 60 per cent of Gen Z beauty shoppers searching by ingredient rather than brand.
Bharat Drives Wellness Demand
The expansion of ecommerce beyond metros is particularly visible in the wellness segment.
Kapiva Co-founder Anuj Sharma shared that around 66 per cent of the brand’s sales on Flipkart come from Tier 3 cities, highlighting the role of marketplaces in taking wellness products to consumers beyond traditional D2C strongholds.
Kapiva’s festive performance also points to growing stock-up behaviour. Shilajit recorded up to nine times the demand on Day One of Big Billion Days 2025, while the overall BBD period delivered around 50 per cent incremental revenue compared with regular periods.
Larger packs of Amla Juice, Karela Jamun Juice, Dia Free Juice, Shilajit Gold and Ghee have been seeing stronger demand as consumers look for greater value during festive shopping.
The wellness category is also attracting younger consumers. Gen Z contributes around 50 per cent of Kapiva’s Apple Cider Vinegar buyers, 45 per cent of Virgin Coconut Oil buyers and 40 per cent of Amla and Sea Buckthorn Juice buyers. More than 70 per cent of Gen Z buyers across Kapiva’s major SKUs come from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
The category is simultaneously moving from generic wellness towards need-based consumption, with consumers shopping around outcomes such as metabolic health, energy, fitness, digestion and everyday nutrition.
Quick Commerce Creates New Occasions
Quick commerce is emerging as an important incremental channel for festive and everyday consumption.
Flipkart Minutes recorded 2.5 times growth during Ganesh Chaturthi, while Rakhi grew six times and Perfume & Gifting seven times during Raksha Bandhan.
Overall, BGM on Flipkart Minutes has recorded 5.2 times YoY growth. Beauty & Personal Care grew 5.3 times, Household Supplies 5.9 times, Toys & Stationery 5.2 times and Healthcare 5.2 times.
For Kapiva, Flipkart Minutes is emerging as an incremental consumption channel, particularly for Ghee, Honey and Virgin Coconut Oil. The company expects Ghee and Virgin Coconut Oil to lead its growth on the platform during the 2026 festive period.
Plum, meanwhile, expects its availability on Flipkart Minutes to create new beauty purchase and replenishment occasions. The brand has grown more than 60 per cent on Flipkart over the last two years and expects more than 100 per cent YoY growth during the 2026 festive period.
Premiumisation Drives Festive Gifting
Festive gifting is also becoming more premium, aspirational and personalised, with consumers showing greater interest in chocolates, sweets, gourmet hampers, premium perfumes and LEGO gift sets across occasions including Raksha Bandhan, weddings, Diwali and Eid.
Plum’s sales have historically risen three to four times during recent Big Billion Days editions, while early festive demand this year is already twice the level seen during regular shopping periods.
The broader shift towards e-commerce is also becoming structural. Around 85 per cent of Flipkart’s BGM customers during the festive period are repeat purchasers, with repeat purchases growing 30 per cent YoY during festive 2025.
The trend suggests that festive e-commerce is no longer limited to large-ticket or occasional purchases. Consumers are increasingly using digital platforms for replenishment, everyday essentials, wellness, beauty and gifting, bringing e-commerce deeper into routine household consumption.
Beauty Discovery Moves Beyond Metros
For Plum, the expansion of beauty consumption beyond metropolitan markets is particularly significant. Two in three beauty searches on Flipkart originate from non-metro cities, while more than half of category demand comes from these markets.
Regional preferences are also becoming more distinct. The East and Northeast show strong demand for face wash, while Plum’s Coconut Haircare range has gained traction in southern markets.
At the same time, consumers are increasingly building complete beauty routines instead of purchasing standalone products, often entering through a hero product before adding complementary skincare and personal-care products.
Sunscreen is another category undergoing a structural shift, with Indian households purchasing sunscreen more than tripling over four years to 14.3 million households by June 2026, indicating that the product is increasingly being treated as an everyday beauty essential rather than a seasonal purchase.
