Goa seeks God, Mumbai seeks sleep: Pepperfry decodes home decor trends

Mumbaikars are buying huge queen-size beds for their tiny homes, the dry state of Gujarat is spending a lot of money on barware, and party capital Goa is trying to find God in ornate little home temples.

India’s changing consumption habits are strikingly visible in Pepperfry’s 2025 Home Report Card, an annual report that highlights trends and patterns observed by the furniture and home decor brand based on its sales data across 700 cities over the past year. 

The larger observation? Homes are no longer upgraded in one go but improved steadily, room by room, through the year.

Pepperfry can be described as an “omnichannel” marketplace present both online and offline, “with 700 home decor brands and 300 furniture brands, along with 25,000 products in furniture and 75,000 products in home decor. That means 100,000 SKUs,” says Shubbam Sharma, chief growth officer, Pepperfry.  

How did Indians agree to buy furniture online?

When asked how the brand gained the trust of Indian buyers in digital platforms for furniture, Sharma explains that the business is now evenly divided between online and offline channels. However, spending behaviour varies significantly, depending on the level of human interaction involved.  

He adds that “an unassisted online customer typically yields an Average Order Value (AOV) of Rs 12,000 for furniture and Rs 1,700 for home decor.

”However, the introduction of assistance transforms the transaction size. "When we give them phone assistance, these AOVs get doubled to Rs 25,000, and when they walk into our store, this AOV becomes Rs 48,000," he notes. 

Sharma argues that the two mediums serve distinct psychological needs: online caters to browsing and lower-ticket items, while the physical stores validate high-value investments.

Omnichannel is the way forward

In addition to its existing experience stores, Pepperfry recently launched Pepperfry Home stores in Gurgaon and Bangalore, where you don’t just touch and feel the furniture but also get to take decor items home without waiting for a delivery. 

The previous experience store model allowed consumers to try the furniture offline, but the orders were still placed in-store on the company’s website to be home-delivered through Pepperfry logistics later. 

Who is buying?

Driving the brand’s new "Fashion for Home" theme is a shift in consumer mindset: away from indifferent furnishing but steering clear of the "Insta-worthy" trap. 

Sharma explains that today’s Indian buyer wants a home that is "warm, comfortable, convenient, and an extended version of their personalities," rather than just a visual prop. 

Positioning itself in the "mass premium" segment, Pepperfry targets consumers aged 32 to 45 who have moved past rental furniture and are ready to invest in quality as they settle down. 

A customer looking for a sofa between Rs 40,000 and Rs 100,000 comes to Pepperfry as opposed to the entry-level Rs 20,000 range buyer or the ultra-luxury Rs 3-4 lakh buyer. 

With 40% of demand now hailing from Tier 2 towns and a strong female customer base (40%), the brand’s physical footprint of 90 stores now services over 350 cities.

The impact of social media and quick commerce

The shift from functional to aspirational buying is stark, according to Kulbhushan Atkar, chief marketing officer, Pepperfry.

With digital penetration and social media consumption, a customer "sitting in the outskirts of Kanpur is now tracking trends from Mumbai or even Italy and Paris, demanding that same access,” notes Atkar.

Staying true to its omnichannel label, the brand also launched on quick commerce platforms like Zepto and Swiggy Instamart six months ago.

Although Pepperfry furniture is not available on these platforms, consumers can still find small items such as upholstery and bookends in the home decor category.

Beyond driving brand discovery, Atkar predicts quick commerce to drive "10x business” soon.

However, he clarifies the logistical limits: while "consumable categories" like decor thrive on quick commerce, furniture remains ill-suited for the model.

"Dark stores actually optimise storage space," he explains, noting that while quick commerce won't deliver sofas due to their size, it has become a powerful engine for home décor discovery and conversion.

Pepperfry’s three-tiered marketing approach

Outlining a pivot for 2026, the brand is moving beyond a sole focus on "performance marketing" (digital ads on Google and Meta targeting immediate sales) to a more balanced three-tiered approach. 

Atkar says that while 40-45% of the marketing budget will still drive those "mid-to-bottom funnel" conversions, a new 25% slice is dedicated to "brand discovery" to build initial awareness at the top of the funnel. 

The remaining 30-35% is allocated to offline efforts specifically focused on "Below the Line" (BTL) marketing.

He describes this not as generic advertising but as hyperlocal community engagement, such as sponsoring neighbourhood festivals like Navratri or hosting activations in housing societies to directly drive footfall to their expanding network of physical stores.

Whether it’s finding God in Goa or a cocktail glass in Gujarat, Pepperfry is proving that the Indian home is full of contradictions, and it's ready to furnish all of them.