Diwali on quick delivery apps: orders, new stores and festive fees

Updated October 2026

Diwali is the busiest time of year on quick delivery apps. Around Diwali 2025, Blinkit handled about 30 lakh orders a day, Zepto about 20 lakh and Instamart about 14.4 lakh.

Diwali 2026 falls on 8 November, with Dhanteras on 6 November. In the first week of the 2026 festive sales, quick-commerce order volumes were up 85% on a year earlier, and the six dark-store apps added 388 dark stores in a month.

Diwali 2025 orders on Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart

App	Daily orders around Diwali 2025	Average order value	Basis
Zepto	About 20 lakh	About ₹850	Company claim
Blinkit	About 30 lakh	Not shared	Industry estimate
Swiggy Instamart	About 14.4 lakh	About ₹950	Industry estimate

Zepto also claimed it was 40% ahead of its closest rival on Diwali, which does not fit the Blinkit estimate. The figures may cover different days or count orders differently.

What people ordered most at Diwali 2025

Next to milk and atta, festive carts fill with diyas, rangoli colours, dry-fruit boxes, sweets, gift hampers, lights and last-minute electronics. Dark stores stock up weeks ahead and refill several times a day.

Electronics. BigBasket’s electronics sales grew 500% at Diwali 2025, led by its Croma tie-up, and other apps now offer electronics delivery in minutes too.
Festival items. BigBasket’s festival products sold two to five times more through the year.
A GST boost. The 2025 GST rate cuts (“GST 2.0”) created a big peak, then a second wave of big-ticket buying after Diwali.

Festive quarter results for Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto (Oct to Dec 2025)

Blinkit grew net order value 121% year on year and 14% on the previous quarter. It added 211 stores to reach 2,027, and posted its first positive adjusted EBITDA, ₹4 crore.
Instamart handled 106.4 million orders. Its average order value was ₹746, its highest in five quarters.
Zepto’s average daily orders rose to 18.1 lakh in the December quarter, from 14.6 lakh in the September quarter.
January to March is the weakest quarter for quick commerce, partly because festive items stop selling, a dip that shows in the quarterly results of Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto.

Diwali 2026 sales forecast and new dark stores

Quick-commerce sales in the 2026 festive season are forecast to more than double, up 110% on last year. That would be about 18% of all online festive shopping in India. Early signs fit: in the first week of festive sales, 7 to 13 October 2026, quick-commerce order volumes rose 85% on the same stage of the 2025 season, far ahead of online marketplaces.

Between September and October 2026 the six dark-store apps grew from 7,853 to 8,241 stores. They added 388 stores in one month, and 33 cities got their first store.

App	Sep 2026	Oct 2026	Change
Blinkit	2,473	2,621	+148
Flipkart Minutes	1,098	1,202	+104
Zepto	1,330	1,392	+62
Swiggy Instamart	1,270	1,296	+26
BigBasket BB Now	859	877	+18
Amazon Now	823	853	+30

Amazon Now counts include partner More stores it uses as dark stores. The October 2026 report breaks the changes down by city.

Tips for ordering on quick delivery apps at Dhanteras and Diwali

Order diyas, sweets and gifts a day or two early. In the last-minute rush, popular items sell out at your nearest store.
Expect slower deliveries on festival evenings. Stores and riders are at their busiest, and the app may show longer times or “not serviceable” for a while. Try again later or switch apps.
Order a little above the free delivery minimum, since Zepto’s goes up on busy evenings.
Check costly gifts at the door. For electronics, look at the seal and the GST invoice before you accept the order.
Blinkit has delivered gold and silver coins at Dhanteras since 2024, and other apps have joined in. Check that the pack is sealed, that the weight and purity on it match your order, and that the invoice is attached before you accept.

Order figures are company claims or industry estimates unless they come from company results.

Frequently asked questions about Diwali on quick delivery apps

How many orders did Zepto get on Diwali 2025?

About 20 lakh a day around Diwali 2025, by Zepto’s own count. The figure is not audited.

Do apps charge extra during festivals?

Sometimes. Instamart added a “festive handling fee” of ₹8.5 to ₹20 during Holi week in 2025. Rain and late-night delivery charges can apply on some apps, and Zepto raises its free-delivery minimum to ₹299 at busy times.

Are apps hiring temporary riders for Diwali 2026?

Apps usually add delivery partners before festivals, but no firm 2026 hiring figure is public yet. Apply only through the official routes for dark store jobs, never through an agent asking for a fee.