Festive shopping: AI, quick commerce, micro-influencers major trends in 2024, finds report

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With the festive season in full swing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), quick-commerce, and the rise of micro-influencers are some factors playing a leading role in influencing festive purchases this year, finds a report on Monday.

The report, commissioned by social media giant Meta and conducted in September by consumer insights platform GWI, indicates an optimism in consumer sentiment with half of respondents planning on spending more than last year.

It noted that festive shopping trends continue to see disruption with 96 per cent of shoppers expecting their shopping pattern to change this year on the back of online shopping, e-commerce penetration, and the rise of quick commerce.

"The report clearly shows that festive shopping trends in India are undergoing a dramatic shift with AI, adoption of quick-commerce, the rise of micro-influencers, and prevalence of regional language content playing a leading role in influencing festive purchases," said Arun Srinivas, Director and Head, Ads Business (India) at Meta, in a statement.

"On our platforms specifically, we are seeing strong adoption of all our key products this festive season -- from AI-powered ad formats to business messaging and Reels," he added.

Notably, the report shows that e-commerce is on the rise and quick commerce is expanding into new categories with one in four electronics purchasers and one in three personal care buyers purchasing via quick commerce.

The insights also reveal that over half of this year's festive season, shoppers expect to shop more through e-commerce platforms.

Further, micro-influencers with 10,000 to one lakh followers were found to be just as influential in driving festive purchases as macro influencers with one lakh to one million followers.

Among the shoppers who rely on influencers to discover brands, deals, and sales events during the festive season, 40 per cent of consumers are influenced by micro-influencers, 39 per cent by macro-influencers, and 23 per cent by nano-influencers, revealed the study.

In addition, regional language ads drive engagement during festive sales as over three in four consumers say it's important for them to see advertising in their local language during festive shopping.

AI-powered discovery is propelling the discovery of brands, deals, and sales during the festive period.

The report revealed that 80 per cent of festive shoppers are discovering deals and products on Meta, while 85 per cent of consumers are aware of at least one sales event through Meta.

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