India likely to overtake US to become world's largest wedding market

Big Fat Wedding: India's wedding industry is growing, people are spending more, and preferring to have ‘big fat weddings’ and that is reflected in the statistics as well, as over 35 lakh weddings were witnessed in just two months, from November to December 2023, a recent report showed. The report was the compilation of all data from CAIT, The Knot Worldwide.





With this continued momentum, the wedding industry whose valuation in India stood at $50 billion is expected to grow at a spectacular CAGR of 30 per cent, and at this pace Indian wedding market will overtake the US to become the world’s largest wedding market. 

“With this industry as fragmented as it is, I can’t think of 5 dominant brands in this space that occupy any kind of mindshare. With everyone focused on the IN-industry right now, whatever is the flavour of the season; Traditionally uncool industries might be where massive opportunities are hiding,” Nikhil Kamath, Co-founder of Zerodha said while shedding the light on the report. 

In the country where the wedding is a gala festival, the market size of the wedding will also be of immense proportion and the report mentioned that India is the world's second-largest wedding market,, following closely behind the United States.  This vibrant sector ranks as the fourth-largest industry in India, with projections suggesting a monumental 40 crore weddings in the next 15 years—an astonishing figure surpassing the entire population of the United States.

The Growth of the Wedding Market

According to the report, the Indian wedding market is expected to become number one with over 30 per cent CAGR. The size of the wedding market in the US is $10 billion witnessing a degrowth of -2 per cent.   Similarly, China’s wedding market size stood at $10 billion witnessing growth of 12 per cent. The UK wedding market size stands at $30 billion and is growing at the pace of 3 per cent. As far as the UAE is concerned, the wedding market there is of $1 billion in size reporting growth of 20 per cent. 

Surging Wedding Market

With a population of 1.4 billion, over 600 million individuals are yet to tie the knot, with more than 100 million actively seeking matrimonial bliss each year. Against this backdrop, 11-13 million weddings are celebrated annually.

However, behind the glitz and glamour lies a substantial financial investment. The wedding business boasts a staggering Rs 4.25 lakh crore valuation, marking a remarkable 13 per cent increase over the previous year. This financial commitment is further highlighted by the revelation that Indians allocate a substantial portion of their savings—equivalent to 12 years' worth—in just 2-3 days of celebratory festivities.

The report also mentioned that 4 out of every 5 Indians, weddings are funded through loans and 20 per cent of all loans are taken for weddings.

As per the compiled report, approximately 20 per cent of loans procured in the country are designated for wedding expenses, highlighting the economic significance of this cherished tradition.