Onam shopping in Kerala set to rise 20-30 per cent as digital demand grows

MUMBAI: Onam is proving that when the festive spirit rises, so does the shopping cart. Retail shopping in Kerala is expected to increase by 20-30 per cent during the Onam season, with digital platforms playing an increasingly important role in how consumers discover, research and buy products, according to an audience analysis by advertising technology company MiQ.

The analysis puts Kerala’s digital reach at more than 21.2 million, while consumers aged 25-44 emerge as the highest-spending audience during the festive period. At the same time, 41 per cent of consumers are actively looking for deals, making discounts and offers a significant part of the Onam shopping journey.

Based on six weeks of consumer planning research, MiQ’s analysis suggests that Onam shopping is no longer confined to physical stores or a single digital platform. Consumers are increasingly moving between screens and services as they browse products, compare options and make purchase decisions ahead of the festival.

To identify high-intent Onam shoppers, MiQ analysed more than 700 trillion watching, browsing and buying signals. The data can be used to identify consumers based on their shopping intent and reach them across YouTube, OTT platforms, FAST channels, Malayalam-language publishers, mobile applications and retail media networks.

The findings point to a fragmented but increasingly connected consumer journey. A shopper might discover a product on one platform, research it elsewhere and eventually make the purchase through another channel, giving brands multiple opportunities to influence the decision.

For marketers, that makes the 21.2 million-plus digital audience particularly significant. Rather than treating Onam as a single burst of festive advertising, the analysis points towards using audience intelligence and cross-screen targeting to reach consumers at different stages of their purchase journey.

The numbers also suggest that deal-seeking will be an important trigger. With 41 per cent of consumers actively hunting for offers and overall retail shopping expected to rise by 20-30 per cent, brands have a sizeable audience to chase as festive intent gathers pace.

MiQ’s analysis therefore positions audience intelligence, cross-screen reach and context-led targeting as key tools for Onam campaigns, with the focus on identifying high-intent consumers and reaching them when they are closest to making a purchase.

For Kerala’s brands and retailers, the message is clear: this Onam, the shopping thali is getting served across screens and consumers are already browsing the menu.