iWorld
Quick commerce drives 45 per cent of festive buys, says WPP–Meta report
INDIA: Quick commerce has muscled its way into India’s shopping habits, powering 45 per cent of festive purchases this year as consumers shift from planned buys to split-second decisions. A new Collaborative Performance Advertising Solutions (CPAS) playbook from WPP India and Meta shows how discovery on social platforms now converts directly into sales on retailer apps, compressing the journey from browse to buy into minutes.
Awareness of quick commerce stands at 91 per cent, with more than half of internet users placing an order in the past week. Adoption is rising fastest in smaller cities, where the segment is expanding at 8–9 per cent a year. Groceries still dominate, but fashion accessories and bags have surged past Rs 40 crore a month, more than doubling in six months.
The playbook draws on consumer insights, retailer data and Meta’s platform signals, stitched together by WPP Media’s CPAS expertise. It highlights the rise of high-intent shoppers who move from inspiration to checkout in one session, forcing brands to plan for full-funnel commerce rather than lower-funnel metrics alone.
Brands using CPAS are already reaping gains. Coca-Cola’s sugar-free portfolio delivered a 39 per cent jump in Retail & Quick Commerce in India (ROAS) and 40 per cent lower acquisition costs by targeting high-intent audiences through retailer-linked catalogues. Britannia cut its cost per purchase by 45 per cent and lifted ROAS from 0.6 to 1.0 through dynamic product ads and real-time data sync across Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto and others.
WPP Media South Asia COO Ashwin Padmanabhan, said the “meteoric rise” of quick commerce had squeezed the purchase funnel like never before. WPP Media South Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar, said the model was “redefining the future of retail advertising”. Meta agencies and VC partnerships (India) director Gaurav Jeet Singh, said India was leading the global shift from discovery to instant purchase.
The CPAS model, which has delivered a 24 per cent rise in ROAS year on year across collaborative ads, offers brands a route to measurable, outcome-led growth as India’s retail market tilts further towards instant gratification.
iWorld
Micro-Dramas Surge in India, Redefining Mobile Content Habits
Meta-Ormax study maps rapid rise of short-form storytelling among 18–44 audiences.
MUMBAI: Micro-dramas aren’t just short, they’re the snack that ate Indian entertainment, and now everyone’s bingeing between the sofa cushions. Meta, in partnership with Ormax Media, has released ‘Micro Dramas: The India Story’, a comprehensive study unveiled at the inaugural Meta Marketing Summit: Micro-Drama Edition. The report maps how the vertical, bite-sized format is reshaping content consumption for mobile-first audiences aged 18–44 across 14 states.
Conducted between November 2025 and January 2026 through 50 in-depth interviews and 2,000 personal surveys, the research reveals that 65 per cent of viewers discovered micro-dramas within the last year proof of explosive adoption. Nearly 89 per cent encounter the format through social feeds and recommendations, making algorithm-driven discovery the primary engine rather than active search.
Key viewing patterns show a median of 3.5 hours per week (about 30 minutes daily) spread across 7–8 short sessions. Consumption peaks between 8 pm and midnight, with additional spikes during commutes and work breaks classic “in-between moments” that the format fills perfectly. Around 57 per cent of viewing happens in ambient mode (while doing something else), and 90 per cent is solo, enabling more intimate, personal storytelling.
Romance, family drama and comedy lead genre preferences. Audiences show growing openness to AI-generated content, 47 per cent find it unique and creative, while only 6 per cent say they would avoid it entirely. Regional languages are surging after Hindi and English, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada dominate consumption.
Meta, director, media & entertainment (India) Shweta Bajpai said, “Micro-drama isn’t a passing trend, it’s rewriting the rules of Indian entertainment. In under a year, an entirely new category of platforms has emerged, built audience habits from scratch, and created a business vertical that is scaling fast.”
Ormax Media founder-CEO Shailesh Kapoor added, “Micro-dramas are beginning to show the early signs of becoming a distinct content category in India’s digital entertainment landscape. When a format aligns closely with how audiences naturally engage with their devices, it has the potential to scale very quickly.”
The study proposes ecosystem-wide responsibility, universal signposting of commercial intent, shared accountability among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents, built-in safeguards, and formal media literacy in schools.
In a feed that never sleeps and a day that never stops, micro-dramas have slipped into the cracks of every spare minute turning 30-second stories into the new national pastime, one vertical swipe at a time.
