Lehengas, oxidised jewellery and fasting favourites featured in Zepto’s festive orders, offering a lively glimpse of how shoppers put together their Navratri plans.
The outfit may be ready. The evening’s plans may already be settled. Then someone remembers the dandiya sticks.
Zepto’s Navratri shopping trends capture precisely that kind of last-minute preparation. The platform recorded its highest demand for dandiya sticks at 6 PM on October 16—a suitably busy hour for an item needed before heading out for Garba.
The company also said 70% of festive essentials were ordered on the same day as Garba events. Its figures offer a snapshot of celebrations assembled through a succession of small purchases: something to wear, something to accessorise with and something to eat before the evening gets going.
Bengaluru gives the lehenga a quick-commerce moment
Traditional lehenga choli debuted on Zepto this Navratri, and Bengaluru led orders for the category, according to the company.
That is one of the more interesting details in the update. A festive outfit is a different kind of purchase from a routine household refill. Fit, fabric, colour and comfort all matter, particularly when the plan involves spending an evening dancing.
Zepto reported 400% growth in festive wear orders across key cities, although it did not specify the comparison period or absolute order count in the supplied information.
For shoppers, the appeal is easy to understand: an accessible option when plans come together late. The practical checks remain familiar. Size details, fabric descriptions, delivery availability and return conditions deserve attention even when the clock is ticking.
The finishing touch gets its own surge
Oxidised jewellery sales increased 40 times during Navratri, Zepto said.
Earrings, necklaces and other accessories can give an existing outfit a different look without requiring an entirely new wardrobe. The reported surge suggests that these finishing touches featured prominently in festive shopping on the platform.
The number does not establish how much individual shoppers spent, whether they bought jewellery alongside clothing or how large the category was before the festival. Zepto did not provide those details.
Even so, accessories occupy a useful place in the last-minute shopping list: small enough to be an addition, noticeable enough to change the outfit.
Fasting favourites join the celebrations
Food purchases tell another part of the Navratri story.
Zepto Cafe served 12,500 portions of Sabudana Vada and Falahari Mixture combined during the festive period, according to the company. The figure covers both items together; a separate count for each was not supplied.
Demand also rose across several ingredients associated with Navratri cooking. Zepto’s comparisons with the previous year’s festival period included:
| Product | Reported level versus previous Navratri |
|---|---|
| Buckwheat flour | 16.4 times |
| Shingada flour | 16.1 times |
| Rajgira flour | 7.4 times |
| Chana | 1.6 times |
| Sooji | 1.2 times |
These purchases suggest activity in the kitchen alongside demand for prepared snacks. Fasting practices differ between households, so shoppers choosing packaged or prepared food should check ingredients against their own requirements.
The shopping list extends to the table
Some of the strongest increases were in products used for serving.
Serving plates reached 8.6 times the previous Navratri level, serving bowls 4.7 times and serving spoons 1.3 times, Zepto reported. Stationery kits also registered an 8.4-times increase.
The company did not explain the occasions behind those orders. It would be speculative to assign them all to particular rituals, gatherings or activities.
They do, however, broaden the picture beyond clothing and food. A festive shopping basket can include the ordinary household item that becomes urgently necessary when guests arrive or plans change.
Orders continue into the evening
Zepto said orders for Fast&Up and other ORS-related products peaked at 9 PM during Navratri, although it did not disclose a growth percentage.
The company also reported that Band-Aid demand rose 20% and Moov sales increased 15% in Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Purchase data alone cannot establish why customers bought these products, and the figures should not be treated as health advice.
What the update does show is a shopping rhythm stretching across the evening—from getting dressed to picking up the smaller essentials that were overlooked earlier.
There is a recognisable human habit behind that rhythm. Festivals may be marked on the calendar months ahead, yet the final checklist often comes together on the day itself. This Navratri, Zepto’s orders suggest that the phone became part of that getting-ready routine.
Source note: This article is based on trends supplied by Zepto, reflecting activity on its platform rather than the entire Indian market. The supplied update does not specify comparison periods for the headline percentage increases or the jewellery surge. The product multiples in the table and serving-product figures are explicitly compared with the previous year’s Navratri period.
A quick checklist for last-minute festive shopping
- Check clothing measurements and return conditions before ordering.
- Confirm food ingredients against your household’s fasting practices.
- Review delivery availability and the final checkout amount.
- List accessories and serving essentials together to avoid forgotten items.
For more consumer trend coverage, read ReviewStreet’s look at India’s food-ordering habits in 2025 and its report on festive jewellery retail ahead of Diwali.