22 iPhone 17s, one buyer: The order that changed how India shops for tech on quick commerce, revealed Instamart report

Instamart’s 5th yearbook trends cover, How republic of india Instamarted 2025, paints a striking show of how quick commerce evolved from a grocery convenience into one of India’s fastest-growing tech retail channels. What began as a way to order milk and snacks has, in just a few years, become a platform where premium smartphones, smart appliances and even gold are bought and delivered within minutes.

India’s biggest tech spender crosses ₹22 lakh

Beyond single headline orders, repeat spending also surged. Instamart’s biggest spender of the year crossed ₹22 lakh across multiple purchases. The account included everything from 22 iPhone 17s and 24K gold coins to air fryers, SSDs, headphones and home appliances. Everyday items such as milk, eggs, fruit and Tic Tacs appeared alongside premium gadgets, highlighting how tech and groceries now coexist in the same shopping behaviour.

Hyderabad’s record-breaking tech cart

The standout moment of the year came from Hyderabad, where a single user placed the most expensive tech order on Instamart in 2025. The cart, valued at ₹4.3 lakh, included three iPhone 17 Pros and was delivered within minutes. According to the report, this purchase symbolised a growing “upgrade-now” mindset, where major tech purchases are no longer planned weeks in advance but made on impulse, just like daily essentials.

Smartphone deliveries reached new extremes this year. Pune recorded the fastest iPhone delivery of 2025, with a brand-new device reaching a customer in just three minutes. Ahmedabad followed closely with a 3.5-minute delivery.

Smartphones rival milk in popularity

One of the report’s most telling insights is how frequently smartphones appeared in carts. In 2025, phones became the second-most added-to-cart item on Instamart, behind only milk. From affordable models to top-tier flagships, Indian shoppers increasingly treated smartphones as on-demand purchases rather than special occasions.

Noida’s gadget-heavy mega cart

Noida delivered one of the most talked-about carts of the year, valued at ₹2.69 lakh. The order included robotic vacuum cleaners, Bluetooth speakers, portable SSDs, noise-cancelling headphones and high-end earbuds. The report notes that the cart looked more like a consumer electronics showcase than a traditional quick commerce order.

Quirky ‘Only-on-Instamart’ moments

The report also captured moments that underline the platform’s unique appeal. In Bengaluru, a user paired a ₹1.7 lakh smartphone with a ₹178 lime soda in a single cart. The smallest order of the year was also placed in Bengaluru, a ₹10 printout. In Chennai, a user managed to bag a ₹1 lakh tech cart for just ₹7,000 during a sale, picking up a smartwatch and audio accessories at a steep discount.

Gold, gadgets and big savings

High-value spending extended beyond electronics. A Mumbai user spent ₹15.16 lakh on gold alone through Instamart. Meanwhile, the platform’s Quick India Movement sale reportedly helped shoppers save around ₹500 crore. First-time buyers from Tier II and Tier III cities doubled during the sale period and accounted for roughly one-third of all orders.

---

---