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.