Brands raise festive quick-commerce ad budgets as FMCG and beauty lead the rush

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Indian brands are sharply increasing advertising on quick-commerce platforms ahead of the festive season, with the linked Storyboard18 report putting budget increases at 25–35% and FMCG, beauty and gifting at as much as 70% of spending. The shift matters because marketers are moving money closer to the moment of purchase, where advertising can influence an immediately measurable transaction. 

The broader spending trend is already visible. Colgate-Palmolive India raised June-quarter promotional expenditure 33% year-on-year to ₹252 crore, while Marico increased advertising spend by 25%. Nestlé India now directs 55% of its advertising budget to digital platforms, up from 33% in 2021.

Quick commerce offers brands something conventional awareness media cannot replicate as easily: consumers are already shopping. Industry data cited by India’s one of the leading online media and intelligence platform put conversion rates for D2C advertisers on quick-commerce platforms at 3–8%, versus 1.5–3% on Google and Meta, while some campaigns delivered 1.5–2 times higher return on ad spend during their initial weeks.

“The sustainable ROAS still depends on the product-platform fit,” Mira Jhala, a quick-commerce enablement executive, told the same online media and intelligence platform, underscoring the risk of assuming higher spending automatically produces durable returns.

The opportunity is especially strong during festivals, when gifting, impulse purchases and urgent replenishment favour rapid delivery. An AI-powered market research and consumer analytics firm says India’s 2025 festive e-commerce season generated ₹1.2 lakh crore in GMV, with quick commerce accounting for 12%.

For marketers, the next contest is therefore not simply who spends more. It is who can pair visibility with inventory, relevant assortments and profitable repeat purchases once festive demand fades.