Open an online fashion app today, and you’ll find a ₹490,000 Gucci dress or a waitlisted ₹415,000 Prada leather shirt sitting alongside discounted streetwear and mass-market labels.
This paradox isn’t accidental. India’s online fashion and beauty market is projected to reach $210 billion by 2028. Yet even as it scales, the discount-led model that powered this growth is under strain. In response, platforms such as TataCliq, Myntra, Ajio, Amazon’s fashion and beauty division, and Nykaa are trying to shed their deals-driven identity—albeit gradually.
TataCliq, for instance, has partnered with online luxury retailer Darveys to create a more deliberate, curated approach to luxury rather than a broad rollout. Myntra has recently added S&N by Shantanu & Nikhil and is also working with Darveys.
Offering ‘masstige’, bridge-to-luxury, and super-luxury products is a clear push to move consumers up the value chain—from frequent low-ticket buys to fewer, higher-value purchases—even as discount-led volumes continue to anchor the core business.
The commercial logic is straightforward. Higher-priced products offer better margins. But the challenge lies in driving that behavioural shift. “Online fashion has been built on discounting for years, and that has conditioned consumers to expect deals on everything. The market has effectively been deflated, and it becomes very difficult to sell anything at full price. Premiumization cannot sit on top of that model,” Harminder Sahni, managing director at consulting firm Wazir Advisors, told Mint.
Sahni added that it will require a structural reset in how platforms price, present and sell products, not just incremental changes.
The push up the value chain
Even as fashion and beauty platforms try to change the playbook, there are early signs that demand at the top end is expanding rather than being manufactured.
At Tata Cliq Luxury, average order values are about 3.5 times those of its mass-fashion platform, its chief executive, Gopal Asthana, told Mint. The company has sold products priced above ₹2 lakh across categories such as accessories, watches and apparel—with luxury watches alone growing at about 26% annually over the past four years.
On , which has added nearly 40 global brands, including bridge-to-luxury labels such as Charles & Keith, &honey, LUSH, E.L.F Beauty and Saturday Skin, in the first three months of 2026, the premium push is also tied to broader market expansion.
“India’s lifestyle market is projected to clock 10-12% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and reach $210 billion by 2028, signalling a growing opportunity for premium and luxury categories,” said Venu Nair, chief of strategic partnerships and omnichannel at the company.
Categories such as occasion wear, accessories (including watches and bags), and beauty are driving growth in its luxe segment.
At the same time, the demand beyond metros is becoming harder to ignore, pointing to a structural shift rather than a niche trend.
Nair added that nearly half of the demand for international brands on the platform now comes from tier-II and III markets, with cities such as Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow and Ahmedabad emerging as important consumption centres.
As assortments expand, these platforms are also redefining how premium products are sold. The shift is towards curated storefronts, guided discovery and more controlled brand presentation, especially in categories where trust and experience matter as much as price. Still, a gap persists between intent and behaviour.
“While there remains some hesitation around purchasing very high-value items online, this is largely perceptual and is steadily evolving. Over time, this shift is reflected in actual buying behaviour where many shoppers are moving away from buying more at lower price points to purchasing fewer, higher-value products,” said Nakul Bajaj, chief executive of Darveys.
Beauty and beyond
Premium buying behaviour is also becoming more layered, with customers not just trading up in single categories but spreading premium consumption across skincare, fragrance, makeup and even adjacent lifestyle segments such as apparel and accessories, said Siddharth Bhagat, director, Amazon Beauty India.
He added that premium shoppers are increasingly returning more frequently and building larger baskets over time, rather than treating luxury or premium purchases as occasional one-off transactions.
said about one-third of its business now comes from premium and luxury, a segment that is growing faster than mass categories. “There is a growing upper-income base in India that has both the affordability and the willingness to spend. As awareness and availability improve, premium and luxury categories are expanding faster,” a company spokesperson said.
Over the past 18 to 24 months, Nykaa has seen stronger onboarding of global premium and luxury beauty brands, including Chanel, Dior, Prada, Armani, and Yves Saint Laurent in beauty, alongside newer additions such as The Ordinary, NYX Professional Makeup, Urban Decay, and IT Cosmetics.
Premiumization is no longer just a strategy shift, the spokesperson added. According to Redseer Strategy Consultants, India’s beauty and personal care market is expanding quickly, with the overall segment expected to reach $34-40 billion by 2030, growing at a similar 10-12% annual pace.
And online channels are scaling at more than twice the rate of offline, as premiumization and more spending towards digital-first brands.