YouTube still ranks highest in most-used social media platforms
AnyMind Group, an end-to-end commerce enablement platform, published its annual Indian report on “State of Influencer marketing in India 2021” which studies the influencer marketing space in India. The report highlights that YouTube still ranked highest in most-used social media platforms in India amidst the rise of Instagram. Facebook and Twitter saw a major rise in proportion to the other social media platforms during 2020-21. Micro-Influencers hold maximum brand deals but Nano-influencers get higher median engagement. The report taps on data from over 15,000 influencers in India. Nano-Influencers hold the maximum engagement in the Influencers world. However, it’s important to note that engagement rates benchmark engagements against a total number of followers. If we move onto the verticals of influences, food & beverage influencers receive a generally lower median engagement rates on Instagram compared to fashion & beauty and arts & entertainment influencers, whilst food & beverage influencers’ performance on Facebook and YouTube are almost equal to the other two verticals. They also revealed the most popular verticals for influencers in India. Amongst all the top 15 verticals, they found out pet influencers stood 11th in the row, one of the most unforeseen verticals. For brands, it’s important to note that the top influencer verticals are highly diverse in the types of products that they can endorse, but it is critical to understand individual influencers and their audiences to find the right influencer(s) for a specific campaign or product feature.
Social commerce to touch 228 MN by 2022
India could have 228 million native social commerce consumers by the end of 2022, a 45% jump from the current user base, as shoppers discover newer ways of buying goods online such as through YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. There are 157 million social commerce shoppers, accounting for 53% of total online shoppers in India. In India, Google-backed video platform YouTube leads as a platform used for social commerce followed by Meta-owned WhatsApp and then Facebook. Younger shoppers in India prefer to shop on Instagram and Facebook, while older customers prefer to shop on Facebook and WhatsApp. Social commerce users are very likely to make online purchases from ShareChat in the future. Over 58% of shoppers surveyed said they are comfortable spending time and shopping on these platforms. Users are drawn to such platforms because recommendations and comments help them with purchasing decisions. Affordable prices and the ability to shop on the platform itself rather than switching to other e-commerce apps or websites are the other positives. Mobile and tablet accessories as the most purchased products on social commerce platforms, followed by fashion and accessories, electronics and appliances, beauty and grooming products, and sports, fitness and outdoor products.
EU internet regulation to push Facebook to sanitize Metaverse platforms
The EU’s twin internet-regulation package will put further pressure on global social networks such as Meta (formerly Facebook) to better police their own platforms in the upcoming age of Metaverse. The proposed DSA (Digital Services Act) aims to keep users safe from illegal goods, content or services and protect their fundamental rights online, on the principle that what is illegal offline should also be illegal online. “Whereas the internet grew up in a regulatory Wild West, future metaverse experiences for Europeans will need to be governed by the simple maxim that awhat’s illegal offline will also be deemed illegal in the metaverse,” said Emma Mohr-McClune, technology service director at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. “Taken as a whole, the DMA (Digital Markets Act) and DSA will usher in an era of faster EU regulatory action, and larger fines for violators; potentially up to 10 per cent of global turnover,” she said in a statement. The rules set out under the DSA are designed to expand and clarify a common set of responsibilities for online businesses providing services in the EU from anywhere in the world. The proposal defines clear responsibilities and accountability for providers of intermediary services, such as social media and online marketplaces.
In India, gaming is growing faster than social media
India’s $1.8-billion gaming market, while small in global terms, is growing rapidly on the back of mobile-first games, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group and Sequoia on India’s mobile gaming sector. The report said that more than 300 million people play mobile games in India, and that the gaming market as a whole grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38% in 2019-2020 and 37% the previous fiscal. This means that gaming has been growing faster than social media in India over the past few years. India’s social media market grew by 11% in 2019-20 and 26% the previous fiscal. The size of the mobile gaming market is estimated at $1.5 billion, or about 86% of the total gaming market, the report said. By contrast, mobile gaming comprises 59% of the gaming market in China and just 28% in the US. Revenues from mobile gaming in India are expected to shoot up to at least $5 billion by 2025, it said. As for funding, India’s gaming startups raised $549 billion in the first quarter of 2021, more than the $412 billion they raised in all of 2020. For comparison, gaming startups raised just $34 million in 2016. Even though mobile gaming already comprises 86% of India’s gaming market, there’s still plenty of room to grow, the report said. In 2020, only 46% of Indians were connected to the Internet, compared with 60% in China and 89% in the US. Also, only 22% of the population had played at least one mobile game as of 2020, compared with 45% in China and 52% in the US. But most importantly, India’s mobile gamers spent far less than their Chinese and American peers.
Govt plans bills to bar private cryptocurrency with a few ‘exceptions’
The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, is listed for introduction — one of 26 Bills — in Lok Sabha in the winter session starting November 29. The Bill seeks to “create a facilitative framework for the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India”. It also “seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses”. Currently, there is no regulation or any ban on the use of cryptocurrencies in the country. Prices of popular cryptocurrencies have been off their highs this month. Last week, the Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by BJP member Jayant Sinha, met representatives of crypto exchanges, Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), among others, and came to the conclusion that cryptocurrencies should not be banned, but regulated. The Reserve Bank of India has repeatedly underlined its strong view against cryptocurrencies, saying these pose a serious threat to macroeconomic and financial stability of the country. It has also raised doubts on the number of investors trading on cryptocurrencies and their claimed market value.
6G technology launch likely by 2023-end or 2024
India is working towards an indigenously developed 6G technology with the aim to launch it either by 2023-end or early 2024, Minister for Communication Ashwini Vaishnaw said. “6G development has already started. That will be seen somewhere in the time frame 2024 or 2023-end. That is the direction in which we are going. We will have designed in India a telecom software for running the networks, manufactured in India telecom equipment, served in India telecom networks which can go global,” he said. Apart from 6G, the launch of indigenous 5G is also on the cards, the minister said, with the development of a core software for the technology to be completed by the third quarter of next year. The auctions for 5G spectrum is also likely to happen in the second quarter of calendar year 2022, he said. As part of these reforms, the government had given the telcos an option to go for a four-year moratorium on payment of deferred spectrum and adjusted gross revenue dues. Of the three telcos, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have opted for the four-year moratorium. The reforms that the government approved in September have been very well received. The industry is now adjusting to those reforms. A lot of stress that was there in the industry is now mitigated due to those reforms. Much more needs to be done. We are already working on another set of reforms which should come in 3-4 months,” he said.
