India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) framework introduces a clear standard: platforms must seek verifiable parental consent before processing the personal data of users under 18. This immediately creates a design and compliance challenge for commercial platforms that have long treated children as accidental or invisible users. In reality, minors already navigate e-commerce and quick-commerce apps daily, and they do so in environments optimised for behavioural nudges that assume adult agency.
With obligations under the DPDP Act and Rules taking effect between November 2026 and May 2027, e-commerce platforms now face a structural question. They can redesign their systems for minors or continue to treat children as incidental users and risk noncompliance, safety failures, and long-term reputational blowback. Moreover, the absence of sector-specific design norms makes this transition more complicated, not less.
Children Are Already Online Shoppers
Indian teenagers are already active digital consumers, not accidental users. A nationwide 2020 survey by FamPay found that 84% of Indian teens enjoy shopping online, and because many do not have independent payment tools, 67% rely on cash-on-delivery, and 52% use a parent’s debit or credit card to complete purchases. This shows that even without child-specific accounts, teens routinely transact on adult platforms.
A separate study on adolescent online spending identified a similar pattern. It found that 42% of teen spending goes to food delivery, video games, music, movies, books, and events, while 38% is spent on clothing and accessories and 15% on beauty and personal-care products. These figures confirm that minors already buy everything from snacks and game credits to apparel and cosmetics on mainstream e-commerce and quick-commerce apps. The findings are from a 2025 study by Ruchika Dawar, Sonika Siwach, and Sapna Sehrawat, published in the book Market Dynamics and Strategies in a Post-Crisis World.
“There’s an assumption that adult-facing apps are only used by adults,” said Harleen Kaur, research manager at Digital Futures Lab. “But real-world use contradicts that. Kids are digital consumers, and we can’t keep designing like they don’t exist.”
Esya Centre’s empirical study reinforces this. According to Esya Centre Director Meghna Bal, 54% of children discover educational products and 56% discover toys, books, movies, or games through personalised ads. “Personalisation currently plays a meaningful role in how children identify and navigate relevant options online,” she said. “Without it, discovery becomes dependent on broad categories, bestseller rankings, or search inputs, which disproportionately benefits large sellers and reduces visibility for niche or age-appropriate options.”
What Children Experience on E-commerce Platforms Today
A 13-year-old browsing Instamart or Amazon encounters the same interface an adult sees: “order…
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