Black Friday Sales: D2C Brands Report Record Growth This Year

While Black Friday has long dominated global retail markets, it has now firmly taken root in India as well. For digital-first brands across fashion, beauty, electronics and lifestyle, the post-Diwali Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend has become one of the biggest revenue and customer-acquisition windows of the year, driving traffic surges of 1.2x–1.4x, add-to-cart jumps of up to 150 per cent, and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) lifts of 20–35 per cent over last year.

Analysts peg the event's scale at USD 7–8 billion, contributing nearly 8 per cent of India's festive-season demand.

A new DHL eCommerce Trends Report reinforces the shift: 85 per cent of Asia Pacific retailers, including 90 per cent in India, say they now actively participate in Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and three out of four APAC consumers intend to shop during this window. With categories like electronics, fashion, beauty and lifestyle showing strong intent, brands say Black Friday has effectively become India's "second peak" of the year.

Global Trend, Local Momentum

Praveen Govindu, Partner at Deloitte India, calls Black Friday's rise in India a reflection of global consumer integration. Timing plays a critical role. By late October, India's traditional festive season winds down, leaving a two-month gap before Christmas.

"This timing is perfect for brands to give an additional push to sales," Govindu explains. Electronics brands typically launch new products before Diwali, leading to inventory build-ups. "Black Friday becomes an opportunity for brands to clear the pipeline so they can make space for new inventory," he says.

Fashion and lifestyle benefit too. Clearing older styles before winter allows brands to refresh assortments quickly.

The Scale of India's Black Friday

As per Govindu, the numbers are striking: India's festive season demand sits between USD 125–150 billion, and Black Friday alone accounts for 7–8 per cent of that, sometimes up to 10 per cent in electronics. Within festive sales overall, 30–40 per cent of demand comes from consumer electronics, and 15 per cent of that happens during Black Friday.

Govindu adds, "If I do the math, about 7 to 8 billion dollars' worth of sales may be happening during Black Friday. This is becoming a huge event." Across D2C brands, discovery signals are surging.

Pulkit Verma, Chief Business Officer, Digital, The House of Rare, a luxury D2C apparel brand, shared that "top-of-funnel indicators are already tracking 1.2x–1.4x above a normal week, suggesting customers are actively preparing for the weekend." Add-to-cart volumes and wishlists jumped 150 per cent, pointing to high-intent conversions, he shared.

The brand expects 2x customer acquisition growth over last year's baseline. This matches broader APAC demand: DHL reports nearly 75 per cent of consumers plan to shop Black Friday/Cyber Monday, with electronics, fashion and footwear topping the list.

Rivaling Diwali for D2C Brands

For many D2C brands, the Black Friday weekend now rivals Diwali. For apparel brand XYXX, Black Friday has become as significant as Diwali, just for different reasons.

"Black Friday has become almost as impactful as Diwali for us but plays a different role," says founder Yogesh Kabra, adding, "Last year, we saw an 80 per cent spike in revenue, Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) drop by 50 per cent, and over 200 per cent increase in throughput for slow-moving Stock Keeping Units (SKUs)."

It is also a retention moment. "Our repeat purchase ratio improves by nearly 50 per cent during this period," he adds.

Bundles, winter collections and curated offers drive the strongest traction for XYXX, with pre-packed SKUs, special Black Friday packaging, and expanded fulfilment lines ensuring fast delivery.

For fast-fashion label NEWME, Black Friday is the biggest day of the year. "From our first year of inception, we have been building this as our most important sales event," says co-founder Sumit Jasoria.

"We don't do a month-long sale—just one day—and in that one day we do more sales than the entire month," he adds. With double the stores this year, NEWME expects its strongest Black Friday yet.

Electronics Lead as Premiumization Rises

Electronics remains the no. 1 Black Friday category, say industry analysts. Echoing this, Indian consumer electronics brand GOBOULT's co-founder Varun Gupta says demand this year is especially strong. "We expect Black Friday to outperform last year with a 25–30 per cent increase in traffic and a 30–35 per cent rise in revenue." The brand expects 65 per cent first-time buyers and a 30–35 per cent drop in CAC, making it one of the most efficient acquisition windows.

The brand added that they are tracking a clear shift of consumer interest towards more premium categories like smartwatches. His team pre-stocked key SKUs across warehouses, strengthened Return-to-origin (RTO) controls, and curated bundles to push Average Order Value (AOV) and conversion ahead of the weekend.

Govindu confirms the trend. "Black Friday is an opportunity for consumers to trade up. Most brands push premium products during this period… the absolute profit value is higher," he says.

Beauty and Lifestyle Surge

Beauty retailer Womancart says Black Friday is still growing in India, but brings a very distinct audience. "Black Friday attracts a very specific and high-intent customer segment," says Managing Director Madhusudan Pahwa.

This year saw strong increases in page views, wishlists, and new user sessions. Skincare, beauty staples and curated bundles performed especially well, she says. "We introduced select offer-led combinations… and these contributed strongly to overall conversions," she adds.

Operationally, the brand increased SKU depth, aligned rider capacity for hyperlocal fulfilment, and coordinated with national logistics partners to prevent delays.

The Trust Gap

But consumer scepticism still lingers. DHL's report shows that while 79 per cent of APAC retailers believe customers trust their offers, only 41 per cent of Indian shoppers say they actually trust Black Friday pricing. Delivery reliability and sustainability concerns remain major deal-breakers.

Across sectors, a pattern emerges: Black Friday in India has evolved from a borrowed Western concept to a high-intent, high-volume, acquisition-heavy sales peak that bridges the gap between Diwali and Christmas.

With USD 7–8 billion in sales, premiumization spikes, over double customer acquisition growth, massive lifts in traffic and AOV, and an increasingly global consumer base, brands say the weekend is no longer optional.