Shah Rukh Khan, Messi, Kohli & how they influenced India’s online payment trends

• During the FIFA World Cup final, the number of hourly food transactions increased to 1.7x the average.
  
• Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Pathaan resulted in a significant 70% increase in multiplex transactions compared to the daily average.
  
• Expenditures on flight tickets increased by 83%, while expenses on hotel accommodations almost doubled in value.
  

It was the day of the FIFA World Cup final between Lionel Messi’s Argentina and France on December 18, 2022. The nail-biting match sent many nervous Indians scurrying to order food online. That day, between 8.30 PM IST to midnight, the number of hourly food transactions increased to 1.7 times the average — making it the fourth-busiest Sunday of FY23, according to a report released by Razorpay.

The payment solutions provider Razorpay analysed over a billion transactions processed on its platform between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023 to find out how, when and what Indians spend on.

The Khan-Kohli effect

Matches, however, don’t always bring in the moolah. On October 23, 2022, Virat Kohli entered the Adelaide cricket ground and astounded the audience with his exceptional performance between 3.30 PM and 5.15 PM IST — a match that propelled India to the semi finals of the T20 World Cup. That day, as India held its breath, the total value of online payments during the match fell by almost 40% as compared to the hours preceding the match.

Alongwith cricket, cinema has always had the biggest influence on Indians. When Shah Rukh Khan’s much-awaited movie Pathaan was released, a large number of moviegoers left their OTT and other screens at home to get back to the silver screens. The movie grossed over ₹1,000 crore worldwide, helping multiplex transactions rise by a significant 70% as compared to the daily average.

Says Rahul Kothari, chief business officer, Razorpay, "FY23 has been a year of hope, resilience, and rejuvenation for India, with a sharp growth in transactions across sectors as people rekindled old-forgotten joys of life. It also showed how Indians have embraced the digital age and how they are using new payment technologies to connect, collaborate, and transact.”

Back to office, bad for broadband

India's corporate sector was evidently spending more time outdoors, with co-working spaces experiencing a staggering 245% surge in transactions, and the number of payments made for cab services increasing sevenfold.

However, the most significant change observed was that broadband expenditures decreased by nearly 80%.

According to transactions processed on Razorpay's offline payments platform, Ezetap, spending on dining-out has increased by 2.5 times in FY23, and transaction volumes have surged 162% compared to the previous fiscal year.

Offline shopping, online spending

Indian consumers have returned to physical stores and have shopped extensively. According to transactions processed on Razorpay's offline payments platform, Ezetap, in-store payments have increased by 88% in value, and transactions have more than doubled in most major cities.

Spending on apparel (127%), jewellery (88%), electronics (60%), and groceries (46%) have seen significant growth.

The top five cities that experienced a steep increase in in-store payment volumes are Gurugram (160.93%), Pune (153.7%), Bengaluru (145%), Chennai (107.8%), and Kolkata (106%).

The revenge travel trend also found its way to online transactions. Expenditures on flight tickets increased by 83%, while expenses on hotel accommodations almost doubled in value. Online travel aggregators witnessed a substantial 224% surge in transaction value.