New Delhi: Indians are increasingly turning to social media to discover, compare, and buy everything from daily groceries to luxury jewellery—often without stepping into a store.
Nearly 8 in 10 shoppers in India rely on social platforms for product discovery, with an overwhelming 96% doing so through Meta’s platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, according to the company’s latest India Retail Purchase Journey report released Thursday.
The report underscores Meta’s growing influence not just in India’s digital advertising space, but across the entire retail funnel – from discovery to purchase. As shoppers toggle between online research and offline shopping, especially in high-ticket categories, Meta is positioning itself at the centre of this omni-channel shift.
The study, based on a Meta-commissioned survey of 2,548 internet users aged 16–64, tracked how consumers in India engage with retail categories ranging from electronics and clothing to luxury goods and groceries.
Meta’s dominance in India, its largest market globally by user base, adds weight to the findings. India had 448.1 million monthly active Facebook users as of 2024, according to data from commerce platform Shopify. Instagram, too, is among the country’s most popular platforms, particularly among younger users in urban and semi-urban regions.
Even among in-store buyers, product discovery is now digital-first. Facebook and Instagram outrank physical store browsing as discovery platforms, especially in high-involvement segments like electronics, according to the report.
Nearly two-thirds of those buying large electronics in-store reported doing extensive research online beforehand. This phenomenon, often called “showrooming,” is also evident in luxury jewellery, where two in three online purchasers first saw or evaluated the product in-store.
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Meta routinely publishes reports on digital shopping behaviour. Previously, the company has released reports on quick commerce, fashion, and beauty and personal care segments. Shoppers spend hours daily on these platforms, generating data and driving business for a multitude of small and large brands.
Omni-channel shopping
“More shoppers are tuning omni-channel,” said Arun Srinivas, director and head (India), ads business at Meta. “Across categories, more purchases have happened in-store than online in the last 12-15 months. For these expensive categories, being able to see and touch the product, enjoying the experience of shopping in-store and the difficulty of shopping online are all key in-store purchase drivers.”
Meta’s report also pointed to seasonal spikes in offline shopping, for instance, during Karva Chauth and Valentine’s Day, highlighting that occasions still drive footfall even as digital engagement rises.
India’s $820 billion retail market is in transition. More shoppers are comfortable buying online, but traditional retail remains dominant in certain categories. Over 80% of respondents had visited a physical store for grocery shopping in the past year, while 75% of clothing buyers reported offline purchases. Yet, most of these shoppers also relied on online platforms for product research, making the lines between offline and online increasingly fluid.
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“There’s a role for offline and for online—they’re not going to go away,” Srinivas said.
Short-form video
This hybrid behaviour is shaping advertising strategies too.
According to media buying agency GroupM, India’s advertising market is expected to grow 7% in 2025 to ₹1.64 trillion, with digital accounting for 95% of the incremental spend. Of the projected ₹10,730 crore in new ad spending, digital is set to capture ₹10,225 crore.
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Driving much of this digital momentum are short-form videos and reels, now the most popular formats for brand and product discovery on Meta platforms. Instagram, in particular, leads in daily short video consumption, with nearly three in four users watching Reels at least once a day.
“More than half the time spent on our platform is on reels and video,” said Srinivas. “There’s a lot of linkages also to people who have seen a reel and end up buying a product in store—over a third of them have actually done that.”
Meta has also introduced omni-channel ad tools that help brands track whether a consumer who saw an ad online eventually made an in-store purchase. According to the report, 63% of WhatsApp users said they are somewhat or extremely likely to visit a store to research a product after seeing an offer on the app.
According to Srinivas, both legacy players—such as retail brands under Tata Group and Reliance Industries—and smaller businesses are increasingly using Meta’s ad platforms to drive footfalls and store visits.
For categories like everyday clothing, beauty, and groceries, more than half of Reels users say they often seek more information or even make a purchase after seeing a short video. Even in high-value segments like luxury jewellery and apparel, over a third of users report making purchases after engaging with such content, according to the report.
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Longer videos, too, are gaining traction. Over 80% of Facebook users interact with 2–3-minute branded videos, and nearly one in four users on both Facebook and Instagram say they “always” do. These videos are widely shared among family and friends, and about 30% of users who engage with them report eventually buying the featured product.
Luxury shoppers, in particular, are more likely than average users to engage deeply with 2–3-minute brand videos and to follow up with a purchase or further product research.
