Credit on UPI powers India’s festive splurge, fueling local shopping & offline sales

By Gloria Methri

This festive season, Indian shoppers demonstrated a strong preference for offline purchases, with a 30% increase in spend-per-user, as revealed by Kiwi, India’s platform for credit purchases via UPI.

The data reflects how communities came together to support local merchants and neighbourhood stores. The majority of transactions took place in small, local shops and general stores—a timely boost for India’s local retail sector during Dhanteras and Diwali.

Local stores and merchants were at the heart of the festive shopping spirit, with General Stores alone seeing an impressive 55% jump in spending per user. Jewellery purchases, a Diwali tradition, rose by 17%, while other categories like Groceries, Dining, and Electronics also saw a rise, with spend-per-user up by 24%, 18%, and 24%, respectively.

This broad pattern of spending shows the diverse needs of Indian shoppers as they prepare for celebrations and choose to shop locally.

Neighbourhood merchants benefited greatly, with spend-per-user at small stores growing by 31% in Tier-1 cities and by 29% in Tier-2 cities. This is much higher than the increases seen at larger retailers, which saw a 23% rise in Tier-1 and 17% in Tier-2 cities. This festive season, consumers clearly felt a pull to support small businesses within their communities.

Distinct spending habits were also visible across regions. In Tier-1 cities, shoppers spent more on experiences, with Dining up by 22% and Jewellery by 18%. In contrast, Tier-2 cities leaned towards essentials, with Electronics purchases increasing by 41% and General Store spending seeing a substantial 64% rise.

“Credit on UPI is truly a made-in-India solution that connects consumers with local businesses in ways that feel both seamless and meaningful,” said Mohit Bedi, Co-founder of Kiwi. “This festive season, we saw the spirit of community shine through as people shopped at small merchants and enjoyed the freedom and flexibility that Credit on UPI brings.”

With data gathered from 400 cities and a user base of 1 lakh, Kiwi’s Credit on UPI continues to bring the festive spirit to life by making shopping more convenient and helping consumers celebrate with their communities across.