Delhi NCR has overtaken Bengaluru and Mumbai to become India’s largest direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup hub. Delhi has attracted $3.5 billion in investments across 434 deals between 2015 and 2026. The success of leading brands like Lenskart and Mamaearth and its extensive manufacturing facilities have helped Delhi achieve this feat. Bengaluru is followed by Mumbai in terms of total investment and Mumbai in terms of number of deals.

Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru accounted for 89 percent of the country’s total D2C investments in the last 11 years. Mumbai is showing the highest growth rate (27 percent). Pune is also fast emerging as a new D2C hub. Currently, each of these cities has its own unique characteristics; While Delhi focuses on manufacturing and expansion, Mumbai dominates the distribution and media sectors and Bengaluru dominates the technology sector.

The D2C sector is expected to become a major driver of the Indian digital economy by 2031. Initially limited to online sales, D2C brands are now giving equal importance to direct offline markets (omnichannel). In the coming times, the influence of the younger generation (Gen Z) and the use of voice-social commerce platforms will expand this market from big cities to small towns (Tier II+ cities) and lead to further economic growth.