As the clocks ticked away – inching closer to midnight, some unexpected items made it to Swiggy Instamart shopping carts on New Year’s Eve. Party glasses, calendars and planners were just one part of the list. The chart toppers? Grapes.
One user even purchased gold coins worth 6 lakh.
Grape orders go 15-fold
According to a report by Swiggy, grape orders on Instamart surged a staggering 15 times on New Year’s Eve. The spike came roughly 1.5 hours before midnight, as last-minute party preparations kicked in. Cake orders also saw a sharp jump, rising sevenfold during the same window.
Not just that, the quick commerce platform also logged 2,35,000 searches for grapes as early as 5 AM on New Year’s Eve.
Unless you have been living under a rock – you might have been aware of the reels featuring the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes before midnight on New Years’ Eve – making the 15-fold spike in grape orders hard to miss.
What is the ’12 Grapes’ tradition?
The ’12 Grapes’ tradition involves eating one grape with each chime of the clock during the last minute before midnight on New Year’s Eve. According to popular belief, completing the ritual ensures good fortune in the coming year.
Social media trends in recent years suggest that some people follow the ritual while sitting under a table, although this is not part of the original custom.
As per the Instamart report, other items that users shopped for included:
— BBQ- related items – 6x – majority of which were placed from Pune and Kolkata
— Calendars and planners – 1.5x
iPhone, gold not far behind
One shopper from Bengaluru also ordered two iPhones worth 1.8 lakh.
Calling it a “heartwarming” statistic, Instamart noted that at least one out of nine orders on New Year’s Eve were placed by users for their friends or family. A person in Mumbai received gold items worth 1.45 lakh from a loved one, as per the quick commerce platform’s report.
“This year, we saw Quick Commerce move beyond groceries and emergency top-ups to become part of daily life. From milk and fresh produce to electronics, gifting, and even gold, consumers ordered it all from quick commerce,” Instamart CEO Amitesh Jha said in a statement.
