Paytm To Bet On Content, Short Videos To Reach 250 Mn Users

In an attempt to improve user stickiness on the app, digital payments player Paytm is now looking to introduce content, news, short videos, and live television by September this year.

Deepak Abbot, senior vice-president, Paytm said that the company has witnessed 100% q-o-q growth in its user engagement through Paytm Inbox where it offers news, cricket store, and videos.

He emphasised that for the next phase of growth, they are actively acquiring and engaging with new users in small cities and towns.

“We are onboarding new merchants in these cities and supporting them with technology in their native language to accept digital payments. We have also undertaken deals with smartphone manufacturers like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi where users will get the Paytm application built-in. Since 55-60% of them are first-time smartphone users we are hoping to capture that section of the market once they get the app,” he explained.

The company claims to have 27 Mn monthly active users on Paytm Inbox. With the new additions, it hopes to get around 60 to 70 Mn new users of the app.

The company’s target is to have 250 Mn monthly active users this year for which it has allocated INR 750 Cr. The deep dive into content space may be a worthwhile plan for Paytm, as it struggles to stick ground in terms of digital payments.

In July, the company recorded nearly 140 Mn UPI transactions, as against above 300 Mn UPI transactions by its peers— Google Pay and PhonePe. Paytm, however, claims that it has achieved over 600 Mn transactions in July, which includes payments through Paytm Wallet, Paytm UPI, cards and net banking.  Deepak Abbot, senior vice president at Paytm said that they are witnessing that Paytm wallet is more preferred for offline payments than UPI.

In India video streaming is poised to become a market worth $5 Bn by 2023. The short video market along with content consumption has become a necessary step for company’s growth. TikTok, a product of ByteDance, has been showing massive growth in India with its short video compilation services. The trend has been gaining foothold and acceptance in India as more and more Indians get online.

Recently, OTA ixigo introduced video content with an entertainment section. The company is curating and aggregating the content from other platforms as well as making original content.