As India prepares for Raksha Bandhan, festive shopping is undergoing a structural shift from traditional search engines to conversational AI platforms.
Traditionally, the exchange involved brothers presenting a main gift or money to their sisters, while sisters brought small traditional tokens, sweets and the rakhi. However, in recent years, the festival has evolved into a mutual exchange of gifts, with sisters increasingly gifting physical items and curated hampers to their brothers as well.
This growing, two-way demand for thoughtful presents makes holiday gift hunting inherently need-based. Rather than searching for specific brand names, consumers are bypassing dozens of browser links in favour of artificial intelligence platforms that curate targeted recommendations based on budget, recipient traits and specific interests.
AI gains ground in holiday shopping decisions
According to a Meta festive study commissioned by IPSOS, 80 per cent of Indian festive shoppers now use generative AI for gift ideas and inspiration during the holiday season.
Research from Google indicates that among consumers using AI-driven search features like AI Overviews, 87 per cent report higher confidence in their final choices, 84 per cent state AI helps them decide faster and 86 per cent express openness to trying new brands recommended by these platforms.
"I usually find it difficult to decide what to gift my sister for Rakhi, so this year I asked AI for recommendations," said Anmol Shinde, a cloud kitchen manager. "Based on her interests and preferences, it suggested a few options that I probably wouldn’t have thought of myself."
Rohan Kuril, a logistics sector manager based in Mumbai, experienced a similar workflow. "I wasn’t really sure what to get my sister for Rakhi this year, so I asked AI for a few ideas. I told it what she likes and the budget I had in mind and it gave me some practical options. It definitely saved me time searching through different websites."
Sisters are also using conversational tools to select their options. "I usually spend a lot of time looking for a Rakhi gift, but this year I asked AI for recommendations based on my brother’s interests," said Priya Sharma, a public relations manager in Mumbai. "It helped me discover a few options I wouldn’t have considered."
Ananya Mehta, an HR manager from Mumbai, added, "I could mention his interests and my budget and it gave me a shortlist of options that made the shopping process much easier."
Higher conversions drive retail bottom lines
This behavioural pivot is driving strong commercial returns for digital retailers.
Data from Shopify reveals that AI-referred retail orders have surged nearly 13-fold year-on-year. Furthermore, Shopify's analytics show that AI-driven referral sessions convert at a 50 per cent higher rate and generate a 14 per cent higher average order value compared to standard organic search traffic.
Brands struggle to keep pace
Despite this rapid shift in consumer discovery habits, market intelligence from DareAISearch, an AI search visibility and recommendation intelligence platform, highlights a significant gap in brand readiness.
Siddhartha Vanwani, co-founder & CEO of DareAISearch, said, “Rakhi is a natural use case for AI-led shopping because consumers often begin with a need rather than a specific product."
Evaluating over 3,000 brands across 15 industries using its proprietary SearchScore.AI platform, DareAISearch found an average AI visibility score of just 29 per cent, with only 15.7 per cent to 19.3 per cent of analysed brands achieving high visibility within AI recommendation outputs.
As conversational search continues to supplant traditional web links, DareAISearch research indicates that the primary battleground for retail brands is moving from standard search rankings to securing a place within AI-curated shortlists.
