9 In 10 Shoppers Research Extensively, Yet 70% Buy On Impulse: Google Unpacks India’s ‘Two-Speed’ Festive Consumer.

New Delhi, Delhi, 10th of October, 2026 : Indian festive shoppers are operating at two very different speeds. According to a Google-commissioned Ipsos consumer study, 9 in 10 consumers conduct extensive online research before buying-discovering new brands, comparing prices, and checking reviews-yet 70% of shoppers made spontaneous festive purchases, sparked by visual discovery and festive urgency.

Commenting on this two-speed shopping behavior, Roma Datta Chobey, Managing Director, Connected Consumer Commerce, Google India, said, “What stands out across India’s festive season is how deliberate research and spontaneous impulse coexist. Shoppers are taking richer, Al-guided journeys to evaluate trade-offs, yet they are equally ready to check out in hours when sparked by video and rapid delivery. With choices remaining fluid right up to the final mile, Google and YouTube sit at the heart of this behavior. Winning this season means meeting consumers at both speeds: building deep relevance during deliberation and moving fast to capture immediate demand-an agility unlocked by our Gemini-powered solutions.”

Deeper shopper curiosity powers extensive research

Shoppers embark on richer, multi-touchpoint journeys: Thorough research sterres from a curiosity to know more before buying-with festive journeys averaging over eight online searches and nearly eight videos. Al is becoming an essential festive shopping companion, with consumers consulting chatbots an average of 7.5 times, especially when evaluating categories Eke electronics, appliances, home decor, and personal care. This creates a more curious consumer for whom conversations act as a springboard: across shopping journeys more broadly, Al users explore 2.8x more touchpoints online as they seek deeper context.

Festive shoppers gain purchase-ready expertise with Al: 51% of festive shoppers credit Al with helping them make choices. This expertise flexes across different needs: shoppers lean on Al for highly specific, tailored answers in personal care and beauty, while using it to demystify complex specs, refine criteria, and evaluate trade-offs in categories like home appliances and consumer electronics. Aided with knowledge they never previously considered, buyers navigate choices with authority-a shift echoed beyond festive season, where 87% of users report making decisions with higher confidence using Al Overviews and Al Mode in Search.

Festive shopping leaves room for impulse buys

Urgency and attractive promotions trigger spontaneity: Alongside planned research, festive shopping carries a high-momentum spontaneous track where immediate appeal drives the cart. Google and YouTube directly influence 54% of these unplanned purchases, driven primarily by festive urgency, compelling offers, and the instant pull of discovering an appealing product in the moment

Visual inspiration and creators turn ideas into instant buys: Visual cues are the primary catalyst for quick action. As celebrations approach, styling searches surge and shoppers act directly on what catches their eye: 53% use visual tools like Google Lens to discover or compare products, while creators and short-form video close the decision loop. 73% of festive buyers tum to creators for inspiration, and 61% of those who made purchases within a couple of days or less without prior research used YouTube Shorts in their shopping journeys.

Fulfillment speed becomes a crucial decision filter: Delivery timing has become critical, with 90% of shoppers viewing sub-two-day delivery as non-negotiable and 81% choosing retailers based on speed. This demand for immediacy is already visible around key festivals this season: Google Trends recorded a sharp surge in searches for “same day delivery rakhi a day before Rakshabandhan this year.

Across both ends of the festive spectrum-from calculated research to spontaneous impulse buys-Google and YouTube connect every step of the journey for Indian shoppers, driving both initial discovery and final validation. Across every entry point, shoppers naturally integrate the platforms into their journey, among consumers using Al chatbots, 94% concurrently turn to Google Search and 87% to YouTube, while 7 in 10 shoppers who spot products on social media turn to Google Search to evaluate them further.

Because consumers continuously explore and cross-check across channels, festive choices remain fluid right up to checkout. 8 in 10 shoppers report being open to trying new retailers-an intent that actively

plays out on Google, where 51% of shoppers using Google Search and/or YouTube discover new products along their journey.

The marketer playbook: Connecting with today’s two-speed festive shopper

To keep pace with consumers moving between deliberate evaluation and in-the-moment purchases, and be present in the moments of discovery to conviction, it is critical for brands to:

Maintain rich product detalls and key customer priorities on Google Merchant Center-including detailed descriptions, imagery, shipping speeds, return policies, and customer Q&As-helping ensure products are discoverable and accurately represented when high-intent shoppers research across Search Al experiences like Al Overviews and Al Mode.

Deliver creative resonance with tools like Asset Studlo to produce creative assets at scale across markets, languages, and variations. Marketers can meet in-the-moment festive intent just as Swiggy Instamart did during Raksha Bandhan, demonstrating 6% lower customer acquisition costs for Al assets compared to traditional video.

Partner with trusted YouTube creators to bulld credibility and close the gap to purchase, as demonstrated by The Souled Store driving a 25% YoY festive sales lift and 200% higher conversions via Demand Gen ads, alongside Mangal & Mangal securing a 2.5x higher view-through rate with YouTube Creator Partnerships Boost.

Transform living room co-viewing into an Interactive storefront with shoppable videa formats YouTube Connected TV to tum shared big-screen viewing into immediate digital orders during collective family celebrations.

Capture conversational festive search intent dynamically as shopper searches shift toward everyday phrasing. Brands can deploy Al Max to match complex queries and connect with high-intent audiences at scale, just as Tira Beauty did to drive a 35% purchase uplift and 8% lower acquisition costs.

Guide digital intent directly to rapid fulfillment by using Google’s Commerce Media Suite across Search, YouTube, and Discover. Brands can capture impulse demand just as RENÉE Cosmetics did, lifting quick-commerce sales by 11.5% at 48% lower acquisition costs.

To know more, click on the Google-YouTube Festive Playbook

About Google: Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play. Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.