Black Friday and Cyber Monday are becoming increasingly significant shopping events in India, reflecting a shift in consumer behavior and retail strategies during the extended festive season. Traditionally centered around Diwali, the Indian festive period now spans from August to the New Year, with shoppers seeking deals and brands looking for new ways to engage consumers.
According to Arun Srinivas, Managing Director and Country Head for Meta in India, "Indian shoppers are heading into the festive season with a laser focus on value – actively hunting for the best deals, exclusive offers, and immersive shopping experiences. Global shopping moments like Black Friday and Cyber Monday are rapidly reshaping shopping trends in India, transforming these events into major opportunities for brands to connect with customers nationwide and internationally. To win in this expanded festive landscape, brands must adopt a strategic approach: targeting diverse audiences both in India and abroad, and tailoring their outreach to distinct shopping behaviors. This is the key to unlocking meaningful business growth during the festive surge."
A recent report commissioned by Meta from Alvarez & Marsal India found that over half of Indian startups are expanding internationally to reach larger markets and meet growing demand for Indian products. This expansion has led to higher profit margins for these companies in export markets due to cost advantages.
Another study by Kantar, also commissioned by Meta, revealed that nearly half of surveyed shoppers made cross-border purchases within six months. More than one-third cited personalized ads on Meta platforms as a primary reason for making these purchases.
Nitin Verma, Founder & CEO of InstaAstro, said: “This Black Friday, we want to give personalized offers to our users which are backed by data and also show a seamless journey across Meta ads and apps, especially WhatsApp. With the help of Meta, we are able to reach and identify high-intent users across the globe.”
Meta reports that its AI-powered solutions help brands address evolving consumer expectations by enabling personalized discovery at scale and helping businesses convert interest into sales during peak periods like Black Friday.
Vatsal Rajgor, Co-Founder of Digimaze & Strique AI stated: “With the right strategy in terms of optimization for your funnel and creative testing, we understood that our clients could multiply their revenue during these three-four days of the Black Friday sale. Meta as a platform exactly knows where the shoppers are and what kind of shopping behaviour they demonstrate, and what time of the day the ad needs to reach them. This makes Black Friday the best time to scale your brand and your business on Meta.”
Meta’s 2025 Holiday Guide indicates that 58% of shoppers say its platforms influence their purchase decisions—making it a leading driver of holiday buying decisions. The guide also notes that most product discoveries now happen through social media; 79% who discovered products on Meta platforms eventually purchased them. Additionally, two out of five holiday purchases were influenced by AI-powered tools or assistants.
Kausshal Dugarr, Founder and CEO of Teabox commented: “In addition to A+SC for prospecting, we are also running re-marketing campaigns for our customer list so that they also know about the opportunities or discounts which we are running at this point of time.”
The rise in popularity of global retail events such as Halloween, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday among Indian consumers is partly driven by international brands targeting local audiences with dedicated campaigns.
To support businesses during this expanded festive window—including "Cyber 5," which covers Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday—Meta offers various tools such as Moment Maker video packages across Reels and Stories; Storybuilder templates; Surround Sound planning; Click-to-WhatsApp Ads; Collaborative Ads linking directly into retailer catalogs; Reminder Ads for upcoming launches; Advantage+ automation products; and Partnership Ads combining influencer content with targeted advertising.
As Indian consumers continue integrating global retail moments into their seasonal shopping habits, companies like Meta aim to provide solutions tailored toward performance marketing while supporting cross-border commerce growth.