‘14,000 gold and silver coins delivered hourly’: How quick commerce is transforming Diwali shopping

India's Diwali shopping is getting a 10-minute makeover. From gold and silver coins to diyas, sweets, flowers, festive clothing and kitchen appliances, consumers are increasingly turning to quick-commerce apps for purchases traditionally made in physical markets.

The scale of the shift became clear on Dhanteras when Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha said the platform delivered more than 14,000 gold and silver coins per hour at peak demand. The figure highlights how quick-commerce platforms are expanding into categories once dominated by jewellery shops and local festive markets.

Gold and silver coins drive the Dhanteras rush

Zepto reported peak sales of around 298 gold and silver coins in a single minute. Demand for other traditional items also surged. Rangoli colours and cotton wicks recorded sales of around 6,000 units in an hour. Broom sales increased 38.6 times compared with a non-festive day, while steel utensil sales rose 20 times and decorative lights grew 18.2 times.

Festive clothing also found buyers, with men's kurta sales increasing 5.4 times. Swiggy Instamart reported a similar trend. Gold coin orders jumped 23 times in the week before Dhanteras, while silver coin orders increased seven times. One customer spent Rs 1.73 lakh on gold coins in a single order. A Noida customer spent nearly Rs 5 lakh across nine orders.

From groceries to gold: quick commerce expands

The trend is not limited to Zepto and Instamart. Flipkart Minutes recorded a threefold increase in orders between October 30 and November 5. Diyas led the growth, with orders rising 12 times. Home decor purchases increased five times, while orders for gold coins and bars more than doubled. Demand for kitchen appliances, including air fryers, mixers and induction cooktops, rose 10 times. These figures show how quick-commerce platforms are becoming destinations for a much wider range of festive purchases.

How do 10-minute delivery apps manage it?

The model depends on a network of local fulfilment centres, commonly called dark stores. These are warehouses designed to process online orders rather than serve walk-in customers. Platforms use local inventory, demand forecasting and order-management systems to keep popular products close to customers. Once an order arrives, workers pick and pack the items before delivery partners handle the last-mile journey. During festivals, platforms need to anticipate demand, stock seasonal products and manage sudden order spikes.

The attraction for consumers is convenience. Instead of visiting several markets or jewellery shops, they can order selected festive products through an app, sometimes at unconventional hours. However, buying precious metals online still requires attention to purity, weight, certification, seller details and return policies.

Diwali shopping is no longer confined to traditional markets. Quick commerce is changing how consumers access festive products, while bringing the convenience of instant delivery into categories once considered too personal or valuable to buy online.