Google To Launch Rewards Program ‘Google Play Points’ In India

Tech giant Google on Tuesday (October 11) said that it is rolling out its global rewards program Google Play Points in India in the coming week.

Google Play Store users in India will now be able to earn points and rewards from the purchases made on the apps marketplace, including in-app items, apps, games, and subscriptions, the company said.

As per a blog post by Santos Cohen, director, go-to-market, Google Play Points, the rewards program comprises four levels – bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. Google Play members would now get different perks and prizes based on the tier they are in, depending on the number of points they have collected.

Google Play Points program is aimed at improving the engagement of users with the Google Play ecosystem. Google Play partners with developers of various apps and games worldwide, enabling the rewards program for its users and helping them redeem their points for special in-app items. 

For the India launch, Google Play is partnering with over 30 players in the country including gaming apps like 8 Ball Pool, Evony: The King’s return, Ludo King, and Ludo Star, along with popular apps such as Truecaller and Wysa.

“We look forward to expanding the program to more global and local developers in the future,” said Cohen.

Over the years, Google Play Points has been expanded to 28 countries and claims to have over 100 Mn people in the program.

“Google Play Points will also provide local developers a new avenue to build a local and global user base; helping them engage their users, drive discovery, and acquire users across markets that have Google Play Points,” the company said in the blog post.

Google Play Store caters to over 95% of Indian users with Android smartphones. Recently, Google Play Partnership director Aditya Swamy said that India would play an important role in the evolution of the global app ecosystem over the next decade.

The announcement of India launch of Google Play’s reward program comes at a time when the tech giant is under regulatory scrutiny for various allegations around anti-competitive behaviour. Last week, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered a probe into the company over its alleged abuse of dominance in the news aggregator space. 

Besides, investigations on Google’s controversial payment policy for Play Store developers are also on for some time. Earlier, the CCI said that if allegations against Google discriminating against app developers in its Play Store billing policy were found to be true, it could lead to potential penalties for the tech giant in the future.

The Indian app market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.2% during 2022-26 period, while its revenue is estimated to surge to $2.3 Bn by 2026 from $1.6 Bn in 2022.

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