Corporate Gifting Market in India 2027: What the Numbers Say, and Why They Disagree

India's corporate gifting market is quoted anywhere from ₹12,000 to ₹27,000 crore. We trace each figure to its source and date, and explain what buyers should do with them.

Published:: 19 October 2026

Most figures for the corporate gifting market in India trace back to a handful of sources, and most of those are several years old. The short answer is that the estimates we could trace put the market at about ₹12,000 crore, a measured figure for 2017 and again for 2022, and at ₹18,000 crore or more, a projection for 2027. We have found no fresh, dated measurement with a published method that confirms the 2027 number. So this post sets each estimate beside its source, date and method, explains why they disagree, and shows how to plan your own budget from them.

Why corporate gifting market size numbers in India vary so much

When two articles quote different sizes for the same market, they usually have not measured the same thing. Corporate gifting has no standard definition. One report might count only branded merchandise. Another might add festive hampers, gift vouchers, employee rewards platforms and promotional giveaways at trade shows.

Four other factors widen the gap:

- Measured vs projected. A figure for a past year rests on survey or sales data. A figure for a future year is a forecast, and it often gets repeated as fact long after it was made.

- Baseline year. A projection built on 2022 data inherits every assumption of 2022, including the post-pandemic rebound in office gifting.

- Recycled citations. Vendor blogs quote other vendor blogs. Each copy loses the original date and method a little more.

- Commercial incentive. Many statistics pages, this one included, are published by gifting companies. A bigger market makes a better headline, so read every vendor-published number with that in mind.

Corporate gifting market size estimates in India, side by side

Here is every estimate we could trace, in date order, with what it actually measures.

Technopak: ₹12,000 crore, for 2017

According to Indian Retailer, the consultancy Technopak put Indian corporate gifting at ₹12,000 crore. That figure relates to 2017, which is the pre-pandemic era, before remote onboarding and home delivery of gifts became routine.

eYantra: ₹12,000 crore, for 2022

A 2022 report from eYantra, as reported by BusinessWorld, also put corporate gifting at ₹12,000 crore. Two sources, five years apart, arrive at the same number. That could be coincidence, a difference in definitions, or one source leaning on the other. The public material does not tell us which.

The ₹18,000 crore by 2027 projection

Chococraft's industry page credits ET Retail with a pairing of ₹12,000 crore (about US$1.45 billion) and ₹18,000 crore for 2027. It appears to be where the 2027 figure repeated across many pages comes from. It is a forecast built on a 2022 baseline. It was never a measurement of 2027.

Tapwell's ₹18,000+ crore page

Tapwell's corporate gifting statistics page is dated 2026. It says India's market is accelerating toward ₹18,000+ crore, driven by digital adoption and festive demand, but it does not explain how the number was reached.

Did the ₹18,000 crore forecast come true by 2027?

We don't know. As of January 2027, we have found no original, dated research that measures the 2026 or 2027 market and confirms or rejects the forecast. Pages dated 2026 repeat the old projection rather than replacing it.

Before you put any market figure into a board deck or a budget note, check five things:

- Who measured it? Look for a named research firm or survey, not "industry reports".

- When? Find the year the data describes, not just the year the page was published.

- How? Check the sample size, the respondents and the method.

- What's included? Branded merchandise, hampers, vouchers, rewards platforms?

- Measured or projected? A forecast is an opinion with a spreadsheet behind it.

Where corporate gift spend goes: onboarding vs client gifting

Some blogs publish a neat percentage split of corporate gift spend by purpose. We looked for the basis of the most-quoted split and could not find one, so we are not repeating those numbers. What we can do is describe the main spend categories that buyers actually order against.

Onboarding and welcome kits

These are recurring, headcount-driven orders that rise during campus hiring and lateral-hiring peaks. The usual building blocks are a bottle, a notebook and a piece of apparel.

A Smart Temperature Insulated Bottle - Black is laser or UV branded and gets used every day at a desk. A Classic Soft Cover Notebook carries a DTF-printed logo and covers the first weeks of meetings. Our employee onboarding kits hub brings together ready kits for new joiners.

Product Card: Welcome Wonder Pack

The Welcome Wonder Pack puts a polo, a laptop backpack, the insulated bottle, a mug, a notebook, a touch pen and a mouse pad into one magnetic box, along with a welcome card and stickers. It suits teams that want one kit for every new joiner instead of assembling kits themselves.

Client and partner gifting

This category is more occasion-driven. It peaks at Diwali and at the close of the financial year, and it usually involves smaller quantities and a higher spend per head. Our post on corporate gifts for clients in India covers occasions and budgets in detail.

Diwali's weight in the year: what CAIT's trade data does and doesn't tell you

Anyone who orders corporate gifts knows Diwali dominates the calendar. The only large, dated dataset available covers Diwali retail as a whole, not corporate gifting.

According to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), in its press release of 21 October 2025, total Diwali sales reached a record ₹6.05 lakh crore. That figure was made up of ₹5.40 lakh crore in goods and ₹65,000 crore in services. CAIT reported this as a 25% rise over the previous year's ₹4.25 lakh crore, and based it on a nationwide survey across 60 major distribution centres. The same release says non-corporate and traditional markets contributed 85% of total trade.

Three cautions apply before you reuse these numbers:

- It measures retail trade, not corporate gifting. Do not divide it, multiply it or treat it as a corporate gifting figure.

- The gift-category share is unverified. A share of Diwali trade attributed to gifts is sometimes quoted. We could not confirm it from the release text, so we have left it out.

- Check for newer data. CAIT usually publishes after each Diwali, so look on its site for the Diwali 2026 release. The 2025 release is the most recent one we have verified.

What the CAIT data shows is the sheer scale of festive buying. With that much trade packed into a few weeks, it is sensible to plan for busy production lines and courier networks before Diwali.

Industry patterns: IT, BFSI, pharma and healthcare

Buyers often ask what other companies in their industry spend. We have no verified, industry-wise spending data.

One vendor blog, Offineeds, states that the pharmaceutical sector leads corporate gifting spend in India, followed by BFSI and IT, and attributes this to Tapwell's research. We could not find that original research, so treat the ranking as unverified.

What we can describe is how gifting needs tend to differ by context, without putting numbers on it:

- IT and tech teams usually run high-volume onboarding linked to hiring cycles. They tend to favour backpacks, bottles and desk kits that work for remote joiners.

- BFSI firms often weight their spending toward client and partner gifting. Many have internal policies capping gift value, so check yours before you set bands.

- Pharma and healthcare organisations should check their own compliance rules on gifting to external stakeholders before ordering anything client-facing.

Per-gift budgets: the eYantra survey and the ₹500–₹2,000 band

The most useful number for a buyer is spend per head, not market size. The eYantra 2022 survey, as reported by BusinessWorld, found that the most popular per-gift budget range was ₹500–₹2,000. It also found that about 80% of respondents had seen gifts improve connections with clients and employees, and 48% described the benefits as substantial.

Those figures are from 2022 and self-reported, so use them as a sense-check, not a benchmark. On our catalogue, every listed price includes standard logo branding and excludes GST, and the product cards show live prices. Here is how the bands map:

- Under ₹500: the insulated bottle and the soft cover notebook, both strong single-item gifts or kit components.

- ₹500–₹1,000: the Bamboo Stainless Steel Water Bottle, which is laser branded, and the Premium Cotton Hoodie.

- ₹2,000 and above: curated packs such as the three featured in this post.

Bulk discounts on most products run at 3% for 25+ units, 5% for 50+, 7% for 100+ and 10% for 200+. For a worked example of how branding, MOQs and shipping add up, read bulk corporate gift pricing in India.

Is eco-friendly corporate gifting worth the premium?

We have no verified market statistic on eco gifting's share, so this one is a judgement call. The practical test is whether the item will be used. A bamboo bottle that sits on a desk for two years does more for your ESG story than a cheaper item that ends up in a drawer.

Product Card: Sustainable Gift Hamper

The Sustainable Gift Hamper combines a polo, a jute bag, the bamboo bottle, a wooden diary and pen, and a sticky-note cube. It is a useful middle ground for teams with sustainability commitments who still want a full kit. More options are on our eco-friendly corporate gifts hub.

How to turn market statistics into your own corporate gifting budget

The market size of the corporate gifting industry, whatever it really is, will not tell you what to spend. Your own numbers will:

- Start from headcount and occasions. List joiners expected this financial year, Diwali, appraisal season, client year-end and events.

- Set a per-head band for each occasion. Use the ₹500–₹2,000 range only as a starting reference.

- Add GST to every line, because catalogue prices exclude it. A GST invoice comes with every order.

- Work back from the delivery date. Allow for mockup approval, 7–10 business days of production and courier time.

- Choose ready or custom. Pick a ready kit from our preset packs, or assemble your own in Build Your Box.

Our corporate gifting guide walks through the full planning process. When you have a shortlist, upload your logo to the Mockup Studio to see it on the products, then request a quote with your quantities and delivery cities. We will send a digital mockup for approval before anything goes into production.

Frequently asked questions

How big is the corporate gifting market in India?

The measured figures we could trace put it at about ₹12,000 crore. Technopak gave that figure for 2017 and eYantra gave it for 2022. The widely quoted ₹18,000 crore figure is a projection for 2027 made from a 2022 baseline, and as of January 2027 we have found no original research confirming it.

Why don't corporate gifting statistics in India match?

Sources define the market differently, mix measured figures with forecasts and recycle each other's numbers without dates. Many statistics pages are also published by gifting vendors. Always check who measured a figure, when, how and what it includes.

How much should a company spend per corporate gift?

The eYantra 2022 survey found ₹500–₹2,000 per gift was the most popular range, but that data is old and self-reported. Set bands by occasion instead. Onboarding and Diwali kits often sit higher than event giveaways. Remember that our listed prices exclude GST.

What share of corporate gifting happens at Diwali?

We have not found a verified figure for that share. CAIT's Diwali 2025 release reports ₹6.05 lakh crore in total Diwali trade, but that covers all retail, not corporate gifting. In practice Diwali is the busiest ordering window, so place orders well ahead of your delivery date.

Should we choose gift cards or physical branded gifts?

We don't have verified data comparing the two.