84% Instagram users likely to shop on platform: WATConsult Report

The Indian social media space has been witnessing substantial growth, thanks to the increasing base of internet users in the country. With the growing popularity of Instagram, there is an increasing need to understand how users perceive and use the platform. Under their market research division — Recogn, WATConsult, a digital and social media agency (and a part of the Dentsu Aegis Network), has launched its latest report titled 'Instagram in India: user perspective’.

The report focusses on the user’s point of view on Instagram, highlighting usage patterns, content likeability, celebrity influence and what pushes them to shop on the platform.

Interestingly, ads on Instagram that are perceived to be appealing, leading users to search for more information about the products or services. More than 75 per cent of shoppers have had a satisfactory experience while shopping from Instagram and a majority of them are likely to shop in the future as well.

Instagram is perceived to be a discovery platform because of its visual nature and stickiness. A press release claims that over time it has transformed itself into a platform that induces discovery as well as an influence leading to a purchase decision.

Below are some key findings of the report:

· Currently, Instagram has 117.1 million monthly active users and average time spent per user is 45 minutes.

· Instagrammers spend most of their time on the platform in the evening, between 4-8 p.m.

· For users to be willing to purchase something on Instagram, they need to trust the authenticity of the product. More than 75 per cent of shoppers have had a satisfactory experience while shopping from Instagram and a majority are likely to shop in the future.

· 84 per cent of users are influenced by the platform resulting in an increased likelihood of a shopping experience via Instagram.

· More than 50 per cent of consumers have shopped on Instagram. And close to 75 per cent of users from small metros and small towns have shopped on Instagram.

· 51 per cent of Instagram's users from India access it at least once a day with 32 per cent of users accessing it multiple times in a day.

· 29 per cent of users prefer to upload images in the experiential categories or upload images of travelling, food, etc. 26 per cent of users like to upload videos and 24 per cent upload stories.

Discussing the report, Rajiv Dingra, founder and chief executive officer, WATConsult says, “Instagram as a platform has grown tremendously in the last two years, and the user adoption rate is very quick. The app has a strong presence in the remotest cities of our country. With this report, we are bringing to the fore, behavioral patterns of users, shopping habits and trends that add value to the brands in terms of shaping their marketing strategies.”

According to the research, the usage of this social media platform is one of the highest amongst the respondent base. Users prefer to use social media platforms that they perceive to be informative, cool, enjoyable, popular and creative. One of the primary reasons people prefer to use this platform is for entertainment, to get inspired by seeing creative content from famous celebs in addition to being able to express their views.

To measure qualitative data that supplemented the research, in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 respondents across age groups, gender, occupation and town class to identify the qualitative aspects of social media and Instagram usage. In order to measure quantitative data, a survey was conducted among a sample size of 1917 respondents across age groups, gender, occupation and town class using stratified random sampling to gather the required data.

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Read the full report below.