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What is the story about?
Cashback platform CashKaro reported revenue of ₹600 crore for FY26, marking a 72% year-on-year rise, as the company said cashback is increasingly becoming a default shopping habit for Indian consumers rather than a seasonal or discount-led behaviour.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Swati Bhargava, Co-Founder of CashKaro & EarnKaro, said consumers are now actively using cashback platforms as part of regular online shopping to maximise savings. The company also enabled more than ₹10,000 crore in sales for partner brands during the year.
“It’s heartening to see that cashback is becoming the smartest shopping habit for consumers in India,” Bhargava said. “It’s no longer tactical. People have understood that when you shop via CashKaro on any site, you’re getting extra cashback on top of sales.”
She said increasing digital adoption and rising comfort with online shopping are helping drive the trend, especially beyond metros. According to the company, over 50% of its traffic now comes from Tier 2 to Tier 6 cities, while 75% of overall traffic is direct and organic.
Bhargava added that consumers are becoming more value-conscious rather than purely price-conscious, creating opportunities for both cashback-led commerce and direct-to-consumer brands. CashKaro also reported more than 100% growth in partner sales for D2C brands during FY26.
The company’s affiliate-led creator platform EarnKaro is also seeing rapid traction in smaller cities, where creators, Telegram group operators and influencers are using affiliate links and AI-powered deal-sharing tools to build income streams.
“In fact, influencers are earning ₹30-40 lakh a month,” Bhargava said, adding that several creators from smaller towns have used the platform to build businesses, purchase homes and cars, and launch digital marketing agencies.
Alongside consumer growth, CashKaro said brands are increasingly reallocating marketing budgets towards affiliate and performance-led channels as companies prioritise profitability over user acquisition metrics.
Rohan Bhargava, Co-Founder of CashKaro & EarnKaro, said advertisers are now focusing more on measurable sales rather than impressions or traffic generation.
“When you work with Google or Meta, you’re effectively paying for clicks and impressions. On the flip side, we are only charging brands for sales,” he said. “As brands start to focus on profitability, the fact that we’re a cheaper sales channel just drives more budget to us.”
He said the trend mirrors developments already seen in markets such as the US and China, where affiliate-led commerce models have gained scale over the years.
The company is also increasing the use of artificial intelligence across operations to improve efficiency and scale without proportionate increases in costs. According to Rohan Bhargava, AI tools are now being used across legal processes, customer support, marketing and data operations.
Also Read | Financial independence key to women’s agency in career and life choices: CashKaro’s Swati Bhargava
He said turnaround time for partnership agreements has fallen from nearly two days to two hours, allowing the company to significantly increase the number of agreements processed every month.
CashKaro, backed by investors including Ratan Tata, Kalaari Capital and Affle, said it continues to invest in technology, creator monetisation and proprietary tracking infrastructure as competition in the affiliate commerce ecosystem evolves.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Swati Bhargava, Co-Founder of CashKaro & EarnKaro, said consumers are now actively using cashback platforms as part of regular online shopping to maximise savings. The company also enabled more than ₹10,000 crore in sales for partner brands during the year.
“It’s heartening to see that cashback is becoming the smartest shopping habit for consumers in India,” Bhargava said. “It’s no longer tactical. People have understood that when you shop via CashKaro on any site, you’re getting extra cashback on top of sales.”
She said increasing digital adoption and rising comfort with online shopping are helping drive the trend, especially beyond metros. According to the company, over 50% of its traffic now comes from Tier 2 to Tier 6 cities, while 75% of overall traffic is direct and organic.
Bhargava added that consumers are becoming more value-conscious rather than purely price-conscious, creating opportunities for both cashback-led commerce and direct-to-consumer brands. CashKaro also reported more than 100% growth in partner sales for D2C brands during FY26.
The company’s affiliate-led creator platform EarnKaro is also seeing rapid traction in smaller cities, where creators, Telegram group operators and influencers are using affiliate links and AI-powered deal-sharing tools to build income streams.
“In fact, influencers are earning ₹30-40 lakh a month,” Bhargava said, adding that several creators from smaller towns have used the platform to build businesses, purchase homes and cars, and launch digital marketing agencies.
Alongside consumer growth, CashKaro said brands are increasingly reallocating marketing budgets towards affiliate and performance-led channels as companies prioritise profitability over user acquisition metrics.
Rohan Bhargava, Co-Founder of CashKaro & EarnKaro, said advertisers are now focusing more on measurable sales rather than impressions or traffic generation.
“When you work with Google or Meta, you’re effectively paying for clicks and impressions. On the flip side, we are only charging brands for sales,” he said. “As brands start to focus on profitability, the fact that we’re a cheaper sales channel just drives more budget to us.”
He said the trend mirrors developments already seen in markets such as the US and China, where affiliate-led commerce models have gained scale over the years.
The company is also increasing the use of artificial intelligence across operations to improve efficiency and scale without proportionate increases in costs. According to Rohan Bhargava, AI tools are now being used across legal processes, customer support, marketing and data operations.
Also Read | Financial independence key to women’s agency in career and life choices: CashKaro’s Swati Bhargava
He said turnaround time for partnership agreements has fallen from nearly two days to two hours, allowing the company to significantly increase the number of agreements processed every month.
CashKaro, backed by investors including Ratan Tata, Kalaari Capital and Affle, said it continues to invest in technology, creator monetisation and proprietary tracking infrastructure as competition in the affiliate commerce ecosystem evolves.
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