Meta-WPP report reveals quick commerce powered 45% of festive shopping this year

Quick commerce is rapidly becoming a mainstream shopping behaviour in India, now contributing nearly two-thirds of all online grocery orders. The segment is growing quickly, particularly in smaller cities, where adoption is accelerating at 8–9% annually.

The sector's rise is evident as quick commerce now powers 45% of festive purchases this year. To address this shift, WPP India has launched a new CPAS (Collaborative Performance Advertising Solutions) Playbook for Retail & Quick Commerce in collaboration with Meta. The Playbook reveals how consumer journeys are being reshaped "from planned buying to instant, inspiration-led purchases".

Connecting Discovery to Real Sales

Awareness of quick commerce is widespread, with 91% of internet users familiar with the services, and more than half having used them in the week preceding the survey. As consumers increasingly move from inspiration to checkout in the same session, commerce is no longer restricted to lower-funnel metrics.

While groceries remain the largest purchase category, the Playbook highlights fast-growing opportunities across beauty, fashion, health products, and kitchen essentials. Fashion accessories and bags, for instance, have already crossed ₹40 crore per month, more than doubling in the past six months.

Success with Collaborative Ads (CPAS) 

Collaborative Ads (CPAS) is a Meta solution allowing brands and retail marketplaces to partner to run targeted Facebook/Instagram ads, driving shoppers directly to the retailer's online store. The model has already delivered a 24% YoY improvement in ROAS across Collaborative Ads.

Leading brands are seeing strong business impact:

Coca-Cola used CPAS to optimise its sugar-free portfolio, leveraging retailer-linked catalogue signals. This sugar-free retail segment delivered a "39% improvement in ROAS", while conversion rates were "2.5x stronger" compared to broad-based audiences.

Britannia adopted a full-funnel CPAS strategy across partners like Swiggy, Zepto, and Blinkit. The brand achieved a "45% reduction in Cost Per Purchase" quarter-on-quarter. ROAS improved from "0.6 to 1.0", with several campaigns delivering up to "5x ROAS and 60% lower CPP".

Commenting on the shift, Ashwin Padmanabhan, COO, South Asia at WPP Media, said, "The meteoric rise of quick commerce has compressed the purchase journey like never before. The CPAS framework helps brands bridge the final mile from discovery to verified sale through catalogue integration and real-time optimisation. We are already seeing ROAS as high as 2x in certain categories, proving the power of this model.” 

Prasanth Kumar, CEO – South Asia at WPP Media, added, “India’s commerce landscape is undergoing its most significant transformation, shifting from a linear path to purchase to an instant, intent-driven ecosystem. The CPAS Playbook provides a clear blueprint for brands to seamlessly connect brand-building with conversion, helping them drive accountable, measurable outcomes at scale, thus redefining the future of retail advertising in India.” 

Gaurav Jeet Singh, Director, Agencies and VC Partnerships, (India) at Meta, said, “India is at the forefront of a global shift where discovery and commerce are converging in real time. With CPAS, we’re enabling brands to meet consumers at the moment of inspiration and carry that intent seamlessly to purchase. This Playbook gives marketers a clear roadmap to build connected, measurable, and scalable commerce journeys on Meta, helping them unlock growth in a marketplace that moves at the speed of culture."