14k+ gold, silver coins sold per hour: Zepto

India's Diwali shopping basket is getting a quick-commerce makeover, with consumers turning to their smartphone screens to buy everything from gold and silver coins to festive clothing, sweets, flowers and household essentials. What was once largely a planned purchase made at jewellery stores and traditional markets is now finding space on 10-minute delivery platforms, with festive demand extending well beyond everyday groceries.Quick-commerce platforms recorded a sharp increase in orders for traditional Dhanteras purchases and Diwali essentials this year, pointing to a growing willingness among consumers to shop for even high-value and occasion-specific products online. Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha said the platform was delivering more than 14,000 gold and silver coins per hour at its peak on Dhanteras.Also read: Quick commerce emerges beyond Diwali shopping panic to breathe on the necks of e-commerce giants135631365"Peaking at 14,000+ gold and silver coins delivers per hour!! Happy Dhanteras again everyone," Palicha said in a LinkedIn post. In an earlier post from the ground, he had highlighted a Zepto store that was expected to sell 200 coins in a single day.Zepto's festive sales data also reflected the breadth of the Dhanteras shopping rush. The platform recorded peak sales of approximately 298 coins in a minute, while rangoli colours and cotton wicks saw around 6,000 units sold in an hour. Broom sales surged 38.6 times compared with a non-festive day, while steel utensil sales increased 20 times and decorative lights grew 18.2 times.The demand was not limited to household and puja essentials. Men's kurta sales rose 5.4 times compared with a non-festive day, indicating that consumers were also using quick-commerce platforms to make last-minute festive wardrobe purchases.Gold, silver and festive essentials find a place in online cartsSwiggy Instamart's Dhanteras data similarly pointed to a surge in purchases of precious metals through quick commerce. Gold coin orders jumped 23 times in the week leading up to Dhanteras, with one-gram coins emerging as the most popular denomination, followed by half-gram coins. Silver coin orders increased seven times, with 5-gram and 10-gram coins recording almost equal popularity.Bengaluru led gold coin purchases on Instamart, followed by Hyderabad and Mumbai, while Delhi topped silver coin orders.The platform also reported some sizeable purchases, underlining how consumers were using online delivery platforms for higher-value festive shopping. One customer on Swiggy Instamart ordered multiple one-gram Goddess Lakshmi gold coins worth a total of Rs 1.73 lakh in a single cart. Another Noida-based customer spent nearly Rs 5 lakh on gold coins across nine orders, while a Mumbai shopper spent Rs 4.31 lakh on gold and silver coins across multiple orders.The trend extended to other categories associated with Dhanteras. Kitchen and dining orders on Instamart grew 45%, with dinner sets surging 344% and pressure cookers increasing 171%.Flipkart Minutes, the e-commerce company's quick-commerce offering, recorded a threefold increase in orders between October 30 and November 5, driven by festive essentials, home and kitchen products, decor and gifting.Diyas led the growth, with orders increasing 12 times, while home decor purchases grew five times. Orders for gold coins and bars more than doubled during the Dhanteras period. Demand for kitchen appliances such as juicer mixers, air fryers and induction cooktops increased 10 times, suggesting that consumers were increasingly looking beyond conventional quick-commerce categories.Puja essentials, including chowkis, altar cloths, havan items and puja thali sets, recorded fourfold growth, while gifting products such as deodorants, perfumes and gift hampers grew more than two times.Also read: Cars to clogs: Dhanteras brings out best retail day of year; takes festive value sales up 20%From sweets to festive fashion, shopping lists get widerThe shift is also visible in the range of products consumers are buying through quick-commerce platforms. Instamart reported a 55% increase in mithai orders, with laddoo, soan papdi, kaju katli, gulab jamun and peda among the leading choices. Fresh flower orders rose 42%, while orders for puja diyas increased 45% and LED diya lights grew 88%.Consumers also appeared to be starting their festive preparations earlier. Searches for candles and marigolds increased nearly 200% year-on-year, while interest in Diwali hampers rose around 300%, according to Instamart.The platform saw a 79% increase in footwear orders, a 68% rise in bags and accessories and a 50% increase in clothing orders. Gift-wrapping paper purchases grew 78%, while gift bag orders increased 50%.The growth in festive purchases was not restricted to traditional indulgences. Instamart reported a 239% jump in protein chip orders, while millet-based snacks grew 188%. Orders for sugar-free sweets increased 71%, reflecting demand for…