UPI winners and losers: Fast food, e-commerce surge, department stores collapse

UPI transactions data for August

India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has continued its blistering expansion, but the benefits are uneven. Fast food chains, online marketplaces and groceries have clocked the sharpest gains, while transactions at department stores have plunged, a Moneycontrol analysis of transaction data shows.

India’s UPI transactions crossed the 20 billion mark for the first time in August.

UPI payments at fast-food restaurants surged 255 percent in April–August 2025 to 5.9 billion from the same period in 2023, while the value of the transactions jumped 228 percent to Rs 69,133 crore. That translates to 4.1 swipes per person in just five months, compared with barely 1.2 two years ago. The average ticket size, however, dipped slightly from Rs 127 to Rs 117.

Groceries and supermarkets remain the backbone of digital payments. The category saw 14.5 billion transactions worth Rs 3.2 lakh crore—over 10 swipes per person in five months—underscoring how entrenched UPI has become in daily spending.

By contrast, department stores are fading fast. Transactions there plunged to 332 million worth Rs 21,156 crore, down nearly 80 percent in volume compared with 2023.

But average ticket size has almost tripled to Rs 637, indicating that people are using UPI at department stores for some high-value purchases.

Other sectors show mixed trends. Pharmacies crossed 1.36 billion transactions (Rs 54,721 crore), dairies more than 870 million (Rs 21,928 crore), while government services, boosted by online payment systems, rose sharply to 508 million transactions (Rs 48,847 crore). Average transaction sizes climbed in several segments, including pharmacies (Rs 400 vs Rs 379 earlier) and utilities (Rs 1,267).

The data underscores how UPI’s rapid penetration is both deepening and reshaping India’s consumption habits—supercharging fast food and e-commerce, even as traditional department stores fade from the digital payment map.