JioStar festive playbook: India’s 46% bigger shopping basket
JioStar's #HarGharMeinJashn playbook maps how India's festive buyers plan, research and buy—and what brands should do before the cart.
India’s festive advertising conversation usually starts in October, when campaigns go loud and discounts go live. JioStar’s new #HarGharMeinJashn playbook, built on its Festive Sentiment Survey 2026, argues that this is far too late. The company’s Entertainment business is pitching the festive period as a longer consideration window — a stretch of research, discussion and comparison that begins well before the purchase occasion.
The headline number is a jump in expected transaction size: from ₹16,500 to ₹24,020, a 46% rise. More telling for marketers is the timing. According to the survey, 68% of consumers begin planning more than a month ahead, and 49% of category buyers are still researching before they settle on a brand.
Why the pre-cart window is the real battleground
By the time a festive shopper reaches the cart, much of the brand choice has already been shaped. JioStar’s position is that television does a lot of that shaping. The playbook reports more than 680 billion viewing minutes across its Entertainment TV network, with primetime viewership up 30% during the festive period. It also claims audiences spend 50% more time with its TV content than with UGC platforms, and that TV-only audiences show nearly two times higher search incidence in selected categories.
"For brands, winning the festive season starts well before the cart," said Mahesh Shetty, head – Entertainment Sales, TV, JioStar. Shetty links premium content environments to higher search, stronger consideration and sales growth that outpaces the category.
A journey, not a moment
JioStar’s answer is a media stack across television, JioHotstar and commerce-led formats. On JioHotstar, the company says it can add 50–80% incremental reach on connected TV and 50–90% on mobile over the leading UGC platform. It reports that campaigns on JioHotstar deliver twice the effectiveness on CTV business metrics, while exposed audiences record 2.2 times higher add-to-cart rates than UGC-exposed audiences.
Bhaskar Ramesh, head – Entertainment Sales, Digital, JioStar, frames the festive period as a moment when purchase intent peaks and shared attention in living rooms becomes the most valuable, contested currency. The festive slate includes Bigg Boss in six languages, Koffee with Karan, Roadies and film premieres such as Welcome to the Jungle and Drishyam 3, alongside South Specials.
What marketers should do differently
The playbook implies three practical shifts:
- Plan for the research phase, not just the sale. With 68% starting a month ahead, brand building must begin before festive creative drops.
- Treat attention as a strategy. Premium content environments can generate search and consideration lift, not just reach.
- Connect awareness to action. Use commerce-led formats to turn living-room attention into measurable add-to-cart and sales outcomes.
The framework worth borrowing is the consideration window. If nearly half of category buyers are still researching, the brand that shows up early and consistently—across TV, connected TV and mobile—can occupy the shortlist before price comparison takes over. JioStar’s data is self-reported and media-facing, but the pattern is useful: festive buying is a journey, not a single decision.
Source: Afaqs!
