Over 75% Festive Shoppers Prefer Regional Language Ads: Report

As the festive season gains momentum, Meta has released insights from its latest study on current festive shopping trends. Conducted in September by consumer research platform GWI, the study commissioned by Meta highlights key patterns shaping this year's festive shopping behaviour.

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

One of the key highlights from the study reveals a rise in ecommerce with quick commerce gaining traction across new categories. According to the findings, one in four electronics buyers and one in three personal care buyers now make purchases via quick commerce. Additionally, over half of festive shoppers this year expect to do more of their shopping through ecommerce platforms.

The study also underscores the growing influence of micro-influencers. Shoppers increasingly rely on influencers to discover brands, deals and sales during the festive period with 40 per cent being influenced by micro-influencers (10k to 100k followers), 39 per cent by macro-influencers (100k to 1 million followers) and 23 per cent by nano-influencers (less than 10k followers). Another insight shows that regional language ads are highly effective as more than 75 per cent of consumers consider it important to see advertising in their local language during festive sales.

AI-powered discovery has also emerged as a driving force behind festive shopping, with 80 per cent of consumers finding deals and products on Meta and 85 per cent being aware of at least one sales event through the platform.

Overall, the study, conducted by GWI points to optimism in consumer sentiment, with half of the respondents planning to spend more than last year. The data also suggests a shift in shopping behaviour, with 96 per cent of shoppers expecting changes due to the increasing influence of online shopping, ecommerce and quick commerce.