New Delhi: On New Year’s Eve—and late into the night—quick-commerce platforms Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit, and BigBasket were busier than Santa was on Christmas, delivering an avalanche of party essentials. India’s New Year parties were all about Modern Family, munchies, and pleasure toys.
Quick commerce platforms didn’t just cater to the frenzy, they spilled some tea too. Sharing real-time data on what we were ordering, gave us a peek into the great Indian party psyche, and it didn’t disappoint.
Blinkit co-founder Albinder Dhindsa revealed the holy trinity of NYE essentials: chips, coke, and condoms—because what’s a party without snacks, soda, and safety?
Namkeen and ice cubes also saw sky-high demand, proving that salty cravings and chilled drinks are party BFFs.
Dhindsa revealed that his delivery executives had delivered 2.3 lakh packets of aloo bhujiya and 6,834 packets of ice cubes by 8 pm on 31 December.
Enroute right now👇
2,34,512 packets of aloo bhujia
45,531 cans of tonic water
6,834 packets of ice cubes
1003 lipsticks
762 lighters
All should be delivered in the next 10 minutes. Party's just getting started!
— Albinder Dhindsa (@albinder) December 31, 2024
Ice cubes were a popular choice on BigBasket as well, followed by cards and party games, home baking items, and soda/mocktails.
On the Swiggy Instamart side, things were getting spicy. By 5:30 pm on 31 December, they had already delivered 4,779 packs of condoms, with Blinkit later revealing that they shipped 1.2 lakh packs before the clock struck midnight.
He added that 39 per cent of condom sales were for chocolate flavour, with strawberry at 31 per cent, and bubblegum at 19 per cent, after a user asked for the breakdown.
Another unusual product ordered in high quantities from Blinkit was—men’s underwear.
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Grape fever
What’s a party without surprises? Customers didn’t stop at the usual. Grapes unexpectedly stole the show, ranking high in trending searches across Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit.
“What’s with the sudden craze for grapes today?? It’s one of the highest ordered items on the platform since morning,” Dhindsa tweeted.
What’s with the sudden craze for grapes today?? 🤔
It's one of the highest ordered items on the platform since morning! pic.twitter.com/cdSNjHnveu
— Albinder Dhindsa (@albinder) December 31, 2024
Grapes also made it to the top five trending searches of Swiggy Instamart.
“ye rahe aaj ke top 5 trending searches: milk, chips, chocolate, grapes, paneer. tum log kitna bhi grape grape karlo agle saal tumhara katne hi vala hai (Here are the top 5 trending searches: milk, chips, chocolate, grapes, paneer. No matter how many grapes you eat, you guys are screwed),” the fast-delivery platform posted on X.
Eating 12 grapes at midnight to make a wish is an old Spanish tradition, popularised in India thanks to Sofia Vergara’s Gloria in Modern Family.
Meanwhile, Swiggy Instamart reported a peak of 853 chips orders per minute at 7:30 pm with customers ordering blindfolds and handcuffs as well.
“Ice hit its peak at 7:41 PM with 119 kgs delivered in that minute!” posted Phani Kishan A, co-founder of Swiggy Instamart.
Blinkit CEO Dhindsa wrapped the celebration revealing some fun facts like the biggest party order of the day, worth Rs 64,988, which was placed from Kolkata.
This is not it. A delivery professional in Hyderabad got the highest tip of the day, Rs 2,500. However, it was Bengaluru that tipped the most on New Year’s Eve, with a total of Rs 1.7 lakh in tips.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)