Sales of Raksha Bandhan merchandise up 46% year-on-year: GoKwik

Kolkata: Online sales of products tagged as Raksha Bandhan merchandise rose 46% year-on-year in the 10 days leading up to the festival, even as discounts declined, according to checkout data from ecommerce platform GoKwik.

Discounts as a share of gross order value fell to 15.2% this year from 19% in 2025 and 21.6% in 2024, indicating that shoppers were willing to spend on festival-related products without relying on deeper price cuts.

North India accounted for the largest share of orders at 32%, followed by South India at 26.2%, West India at 22.7%, and East and Northeast India at 13.5%. The analysis covered confirmed orders across more than 15,000 brands on GoKwik's network.


Gift-oriented categories recorded some of the strongest increases. Home and furniture gifts saw sales rise 3.63 times compared with a normal shopping period, despite average discounts of 4.2%. Fashion accessories recorded a 2.47-times increase, with average discounts of 5.9%.

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Jewellery sales rose 1.23 times despite average discounts of 29.1%, while beauty and personal care sales increased 1.09 times, with discounts averaging 27.2%.

Among individual products, crossbody bags recorded the strongest increase at 1.97 times the normal period, followed by sneakers, body sprays, earbuds, fashion watches and perfumes.

The data also pointed to a shift in the gender mix of purchases. Male-targeted products accounted for 15% of sales during the Raksha Bandhan run-up, up from 13.6% during the normal period. The share of female-targeted products fell to 22.1% from 24.5%.

Consumers also bought more items per order. The average number of items per order increased 30%, while the average price paid per item declined 17%. This resulted in an 8% increase in average basket value. About 36% of carts containing Raksha Bandhan merchandise also included an additional gift.

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“Festive commerce is often viewed through sales and discounts, but checkout data reveals a much deeper shift in consumer intent. This Raksha Bandhan, shoppers built larger baskets around products they considered appropriate gifts even when discounts were modest. The strength of a network spanning more than 15,000 brands allows us to understand these patterns across categories, locations and checkout behaviour. For brands, the opportunity lies in presenting relevant gift combinations and ensuring a seamless checkout while using risk intelligence to distinguish genuine, high-intent orders from potentially risky demand. This can help brands grow without depending entirely on deeper discounts,” Chirag Taneja, co-founder and CEO of GoKwik, said.

The festival shopping window also started earlier this year. Orders peaked around 12 days before Raksha Bandhan, compared with six days before the festival last year. About a quarter of orders were placed between 9 pm and 5 am.

The data suggests that festive demand is increasingly being driven by product relevance and gifting occasions rather than discounts alone, with shoppers buying more items per order even as the average price of individual items declined.