14 August,2026 08:16 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representational image. (Pic/Pexels)
India's festive shopping journey is increasingly becoming a technology-enabled, social decision-making process, with Gen Z consumers turning to digital platforms not just to discover products but also to seek recommendations and validation from friends and family before making purchases, according to new research by GWI and Snapchat.
Snapchat study suggests that festive shopping is no longer concentrated around a single peak period. Instead, Gen Z begins researching and planning purchases weeks in advance, while continuing to make spontaneous buying decisions throughout the festive season.
For technology and digital platforms, the findings point to a shift in how consumers interact with shopping content. While creator-led content remains important for product discovery, conversations within consumers' personal networks are emerging as a key factor in converting interest into purchase decisions.
Yagnesh Ravi, Lead (Ad Solutions) at Snapchat India, said, "For years, festive advertising has been centred around visibility. What this research shows is that the next opportunity lies in confidence. Gen Z isn't making purchase decisions in isolation; they're discussing, validating and sharing those decisions with the people they trust."
According to the collaborative research, 70 per cent of Gen Z consumers say creator content helps them discover products. However, the influence of social platforms extends beyond product discovery.
Around 76 per cent of Gen Z respondents said instant feedback from people they trust makes them more confident about purchase decisions, while 63 per cent said they share products with friends or family before buying them. Four in 10 actively seek opinions or advice before making a purchase.
The trend is particularly relevant for platforms built around private communication and sharing. Among Gen Z Daily Snapchat users, 75 per cent said they chat with friends on Snapchat about purchases while an item is still in their shopping basket.
Meanwhile, 67 per cent said Snapchat helps them feel more confident about purchase decisions during the festive season.
The research also found that 40 per cent of Gen Z Daily Snapchatters have shared a product with others after seeing or sharing it on Snapchat.
The research challenges the idea that festive shopping is concentrated around Diwali or major shopping events.
Seventy per cent of Gen Z respondents said the festive season consists of multiple celebrations rather than one shopping moment. Nearly four in 10 said they begin planning their Diwali purchases more than a month in advance.
At the same time, shopping behaviour remains a mix of planned and spontaneous purchases. Around 41 per cent said most of their purchases are planned in advance, while another 40 per cent said they combine planning with impulse buying.
For digital platforms and brands, this creates a longer window for engagement, with consumers moving between product discovery, research, conversations and purchase decisions over several weeks.
Highlighting facts on the same, Jason Mander, Chief Insight Officer at GWI said, "What's striking in this research is how much the festive shopping journey has changed shape. It's no longer a single moment to be won around a big shopping weekend. For Gen Z, it's an extended season, with nearly four in ten planning their Diwali purchases a month or more in advance, and just as many blending planning with impulse buys along the way
The study also highlights the role of social and messaging platforms as a layer between product discovery and purchase.
Among Gen Z Daily Snapchatters, 49 per cent said they ask friends or family for shopping advice. Around 43 per cent said they have asked friends for shopping opinions on Snapchat, while 42 per cent have sent a Snap to a friend specifically to ask for their opinion while shopping.
The findings indicate that messaging is increasingly becoming part of the digital commerce journey, allowing consumers to move from seeing a product online to discussing it with people they trust before deciding whether to buy it.
The broader festive behaviour also remains strongly centred around digital connections. The study found that 77 per cent of Gen Z interact most with family members on social media during the festive season, followed by 76 per cent who interact with close friends.
For technology platforms, the findings underline a shift from social media being primarily a destination for content consumption to becoming part of the decision-making infrastructure surrounding online shopping.
As festive commerce becomes increasingly digital, the research suggests that the path from discovery to discussion to purchase could become as important as traditional advertising-led product discovery.
