Tier 3 cities drive 50 pc of online Diwali shopping, data shows

Recent industry data analysis of over 4.25 crore shipments has revealed that tier 3 cities have contributed over 50 per cent of this year's online Diwali shopping, representing the fastest and largest drivers of festive e-commerce.

According to logistics intelligence platform ClickPost, non-metro cities have driven this year's online Diwali shopping boom, accounting for nearly three-quarters of total e-commerce volume.

Data shows shipments made by these regions have solidified non-metro India’s role as the epicentre of order volumes and growth during this festive season.

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Demands boosted by Durga Puja

ClickPost data showed that "the scale of non-metro India is staggering. Tier 3 cities alone accounted for 50.7 per cent of all orders in 2025. Combined with Tier 2 (24.8 per cent), Bharat represents nearly three-quarters (74.7 per cent) of the total order volume, confirming its role as the undisputed engine of e-commerce scale".

Durga Puja festivities boosted festive demand earlier this month, which saw fashion orders surge by 14.3 per cent during the pre-Puja week and Karwa Chauth. During this period, cosmetic purchases nearly doubled fashion purchases.

Despite the complexity and volume increase, India’s logistics networks maintained a steady average delivery time of 2.83 days for festive shipments. The share of same-day hyperlocal deliveries surged 42 per cent year-on-year to reach 8.7 per cent of all orders.

Cash on delivery remained the preferred payment method in Tier 3 cities, accounting for 52 per cent of orders, even as prepaid digital payments dominated higher-value transactions nationwide. The average order value jumped 32.5 per cent year-over-year from Rs 3,281 in 2024 to Rs 4,346 in 2025.

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A new era of Indian retail

Co-founder and CEO of ClickPost, Naman Vijay, said that India is entering a new era of retail where tier 3 towns outperform metros and COD still rules the heartland. He also noted that people spend more on home upgrades during the festive season. He credited the growth in online shipments to investments in speed, fulfilment, inventory intelligence and localised offers.

"The smart players are already preparing for next year’s curve: same-day-delivery-blueprint in hundreds of towns, tailored assortments, and delivery models built for both 1 lakh orders and one-minute gratification," he added.

ClickPost handles over 50 million monthly shipments for over 450 brands, such as Nykaa, Puma, Caratlane, and Walmart across India, Southeast Asia, MENA, and the US.