India’s Werewolf Shopping Spree: Online Sales Surge On Night Bingeing

Every night and Indian homes and workplaces come alive, bare shopping fangs to gobble up food and beverages, groceries and household consumables, sundry paraphernalia, go-to mobile items, cabs, drivers and fanciful apparel, all delivered instantly or early in the morrow.

On the other end of this sales rainbow, digital assistants, physical packers and bike-borne delivery boys hum the sales anthem, as online payment turnstiles coo and go ooh, notching up record numbers in the world’s largest market of middle-class purchasers.

“Nights are when most of the city sleeps, but online shoppers come to life,” says Ashok Kumar, delivery boy with Swiggy Instamart. “Through the night, I deliver more stuff used during the day than I deliver night-time items over the full delivery day,” he adds, making one wonder if there is a deeper connotation in this fair boy’s innocent statement.

Ashok and his tribe of bike-borne delivery boys criss-cross India’s traffic-shorn streets at night with little or no ‘boot space’ left on their bikes and e-scooters.

That nightly sales are zooming is amongst the findings of ‘Simpl’s Checkout Scan’, conducted annually, which revealed a heady 60 per cent plus rise last year in payment volumes for online orders placed in India between 10 pm and 4 am.

Before I delve further, let’s see what is transpiring in my own home, where the consumption of cakes has jumped. All bakeries in my part of the city offer a 50-per cent discount, or more, on orders received after midnight. Which has led to more night orders and more cake consumption.

In the process, we have also discovered discounts and freebie offers on burgers and pizzas, and these are also making their way into our microwave far more frequently. It holds good for grocery and household essentials purchases too; one thing leads to another, we have found.

Like us, orders are being placed by millions of consumers across the country, especially in the seven states that have allowed shops and establishments to operate 24 hours a day to promote round-the-clock commerce.

This move has led to a surge in online and physical consumer spending during late-night hours; particularly in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Haryana and Delhi; as people avail of services at ‘not-normal’ times.

Additionally, Madhya Pradesh recently allowed shops and commercial establishments to stay open for 24 hours, while Chandigarh did the same for all shops except bars and pubs.

Rajnish Sharma, a Reliance Executive, said: “Late hours cater to customers’ varied schedules, offering great convenience and quick deliveries, making shopping a more relaxed experience. At the sales end too, we are happier, for we have more time per customer without repeated interruptions. Happy customers buy more easily.”

Prominent merchants benefiting from this trend include Zepto, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart in Quick Commerce; Zomato and Swiggy in Food and Beverages; and Myntra, Nykaa and Jiomart in Fashion.

Payments gateway Simpl admits that the 24-hour opening of shops has helped increase customer convenience and fanned economic activity.

“The 60-per cent growth in spends and 30-per cent rise in total orders underline consumer preferences and a willingness to utilize services beyond conventional business hours,” CEO Nitya Sharma says.

The trend highlights evolving consumer behaviour and offers an opportunity for businesses willing to adapt to the demands of a 24-hour economy. As more states shift to all-hour trends, India’s retail landscape could see a transformation towards all-night operations. Here, we are talking of physical shops, but that is pushing up online sales too.

If we look at the capital city of New Delhi and its suburbs, the night economy has already got a leg-up due to business approvals given by the state government in June.

Under the new norms, 155 more shops and commercial establishments across the Capital are now operating 24x7, raising the total number to 523. Other than boosting nightlife and economy, the move is also creating jobs.

Paradoxically, it is also increasing the consumption of alcohol, one of the key instigators of night-time shopping indulgences. India is not alone in this binging on the bacchus. An international survey by Finder, a Financial Information Firm, throws up interesting results. According to its ‘Drunk Shopping Survey’, 17 per cent of Americans shop under the influence of alcohol, spending around US $309 (Rs 25,956) each.

It is not just those in the US who are bingeing on after-drinks shopping. Australia is doing well too, with 18 per cent having shopped under the influence. Canada fares ‘better’ with 31 per cent such shoppers, while the United Kingdom is the ‘best’, with 56 per cent of online customers shopping after (or while) downing a few.

Said Shashank, a delivery boy with online grocer Zepto “Liquor deliveries are not allowed in India, or our sales would be higher, as would have been my tips.” 

The writer is a New Delhi-based journalist and communications specialist. Views expressed are personal