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Love gets serious: Indian women choose commitment
MUMBAI: Looks like love in India has stopped playing hard to get. A new study by homegrown dating app Aisle shows that 97 per cent of Indian women now prioritise commitment, signalling a clear shift from casual dating to meaningful relationships. The report, aptly titled The Commitment Decade, dives deep into how modern Indians swipe, match, and marry, and it turns out, commitment is the new cool.
The study, based on insights from 3,400 urban singles across metros like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune, reveals a generational mood swing. While nine in ten millennial women now prefer serious connections, 80 per cent of men are catching up, with commitment rates rising steadily with age.
“People are done with endless swiping,” said Aisle Network head Chandni Gaglani. “Today, real connections, emotional intelligence and shared values matter more than ever. Indians are rediscovering romance that balances ambition with authenticity.”
Beyond love and labels, mental health and emotional maturity are reshaping the dating landscape. Two-thirds of Gen Z women say they would end a relationship over mental health issues, while one in three Indians admit they’ve walked away for the same reason. Equality is also finding its way to the first date, over half of women prefer splitting the bill.
And while AI may be rewriting everything from work to art, it’s yet to take over the heart. Only 45 per cent of men say they’d trust AI in matchmaking, and even then, only with human verification.
Astrology, on the other hand, has lost its celestial hold, seven in ten Indians now put compatibility before horoscopes.
As digital dating moves from taboo to tradition, Aisle’s 30 million members and three million success stories reflect a nation ready to date with purpose. From flings to forever, India’s singles are proving that the next big trend in love is sincerity.
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Reliance Retail FY26 revenue rises 11.8 Per Cent to Rs 3.7 lakh crore
Q4 revenue up 11.1 Per Cent, hyperlocal orders surge 4x, PAT steady
MUMBAI: Reliance Retail isn’t just ringing up sales, it’s ringing doorbells faster than ever. Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) reported a steady FY26 performance, with growth powered by store expansion, a sharp surge in hyperlocal commerce, and consistent traction across grocery, fashion and jewellery. For the full year, revenue rose 11.8 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,70,026 crore. In the January–March quarter, revenue from operations climbed 11.1 per cent to Rs 87,344 crore, up from Rs 78,622 crore a year earlier.
Operating performance remained stable, with Q4 EBITDA inching up 3.1 per cent YoY to Rs 6,921 crore from Rs 6,711 crore. However, quarterly profit after tax held steady at Rs 3,563 crore. For the full fiscal, PAT grew 11.7 per cent to Rs 13,842 crore.
Expansion remained a key lever. RRVL added 1,564 new stores during FY26, while simultaneously scaling its digital and hyperlocal commerce play. The latter emerged as a standout, with daily orders surging more than fourfold year-on-year in Q4, underlining a clear shift towards faster, localised fulfilment.
In grocery, large-format stores maintained momentum, aided by festive demand and the expansion of Smart Bazaar, which crossed 1,000 stores. Promotional campaigns such as ‘Full Paisa Vasool’ delivered record results, with sales rising 26 per cent YoY.
Digital commerce also picked up pace. JioMart added 5.8 million new users in Q4, nearly doubling its registered base year-on-year. Hyperlocal orders grew 29 per cent sequentially and over 300 per cent annually during the quarter.
Fashion and lifestyle saw steady traction. Ajio recorded a 23 per cent YoY rise in average bill value, while fast-fashion platform Shein crossed 11 million app installs, scaling rapidly with expanding product lines.
The jewellery business added further shine, with average bill value jumping 53 per cent YoY, largely driven by rising gold prices and sustained consumer demand.
Commenting on the shift, RRVL executive director Isha Ambani said hyperlocal commerce has become a structural growth driver, with orders rising more than fourfold over the year.
Looking ahead to FY27, the company is betting on technology to deepen engagement. The focus, Ambani noted, will be on AI-led merchandising, sharper pricing strategies and disciplined execution turning scale into sustained customer value.
In short, the carts are fuller, the clicks are quicker, and the next phase looks less about reach and more about precision.
