MAM
Diwali Season witnesses Increase in online searches for Diwali Offers and Promotions reveals SEMrush study
MUMBAI: A SEMrush study shows that when Diwali, the most important festive season in India approaches, online searches for Diwali offers and discounts skyrocket. The SEMrush study shows every year over the past few years, with Diwali approaching, increasing numbers of people search online for Diwali offers, promotions, discounts, and make inquiries about pollution levels. With internet penetration growing considerably every month, the number of searches related to Diwali is expected to reach hitherto untouched heights in October 2019.
While during the Diwali season in 2015 Diwali related keywords were used approximately 1 million times, in 2016 this number grew to well over 1.25 million. During the 2017 festive season, Diwali related keywords were used a whopping 3.3 million times but unexpectedly fell to 1.8 million the following festive season. In October of this year, Diwali related keywords are expected to be used approximately 4 million times. The SEMrush study shows in 2019, online searches containing Diwali related keywords have been steadily increasing since July. In that month they were used 246,000 times. In the following two months, such keywords were used 450,000 and 560,000 times.
The SEMrush study shows the festive season piques consumer interest in online shopping. The Keyword “Flipkart Diwali Sale” was used an average of 17,992 over the past 4 years. Keywords such as “Diwali offer”, “Diwali Special Rangoli”, “Amazon Diwali Sale”, “Diwali Offer Mobile”, “Amazon Diwali Offer”, “Jio Diwali Offer”, “Diwali Offers Flipkart”, “Diwali Sale”, “Snapdeal Diwali Offer”, and “Diwali Special” were each used an average of 15371, 8031, 7957, 5759, 5200, 4475, 4266, 4175,4157, 3697 times respectively since 2015.
The SEMrush study shows consumers have come to expect online retailers to provide intriguing discounts during the Diwali season. The study also highlights that many consumers still search for products from specific online retailers by inputting keywords in search engines rather than by directly going to their website or app. This is likely because many consumers are aware that online retailers have attractive offers during the festive season yet remain unaware of how to take advantage of them. They see no other alternative than to input their queries into search engines. It may also highlight that Indian consumers don’t find online retailers websites and apps user-friendly enough to spot the best deals. Hence many turn to search engines which seem less intimidating. The SEMrush study also reveals the relative popularity of online retailers in India with both Flipkart and Amazon in dominant positions with Snapdeal an also-ran.
Indians are also aware that Diwali produces pollution. Online searches containing keywords “Diwali air pollution” were made a total of 550 times during the festive season in 2015. In 2016, 2017, 2018 these keywords where input a total of 550, 1300, and 1000 times respectively. The SEMrush study also shows that many input searches with keywords “eco-friendly crackers” and “green crackers”. Of these two keywords, “green crackers” was searched 20000 times in October 2019 while “eco-friendly crackers” was searched 4500 times. This signals that Indians eager to buy fire crackers that don’t pollute are most likely to recognise such crackers when they are labelled “green crackers” as opposed to “eco-friendly crackers”. The study shows Indians are not only aware that Diwali produces air pollution but are also sophisticated enough to try and mitigate such pollution by buying fire crackers that produce little or no pollution.
Mr. Fernando Angulo, Head of Communications, SEMrush, said “Diwali is by far the most important festival in India and Indians have demonstrated immense adaptability by incorporating into Diwali their joy of shopping. The festival of lights burns considerably brighter because it is accompanied by major new purchases by most households. And growing numbers of Indian consumers don’t just buy more during the festive season, they buy more at the best possible discounts because they know where to find them online.
He further added- Customers also know which online retailers are likely to offer them products at the best prices, this is highlighted by the diminishing popularity of an also-ran online retailer. Our study also shows that pollution during Diwali is a major concern as online inquiries about pollution levels are growing with each passing year”.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
