SUMMARY
Google is the biggest digital platform with 97.9% reach, as per Comscore
The report named TikTok as the ninth most popular digital property in India
Meanwhile, IAMAI claims India now has over 500 Mn active internet users
Google has emerged as the top multi-platform digital brand in India for March 2020, according to a Comscore analysis. The global tech giant recorded 397Mn total unique views with a whopping 97.9% reach. It is followed by social media giant Facebook 383 Mn unique visitors and 94.3% reach. The reach for a platform indicates the penetration of the brand within the total base polled by Comscore.
In the third and fourth spots are Times Internet Limited and Amazon India with neck-to-neck 317Mn and 314Mn unique visitors respectively. The two platforms are close in terms of their reach as well, with Times Internet getting 78.2% reach, and Amazon at 77.5%. Reliance Jio, looking to build a mega digital empire with its recent fundraising, is on the seventh spot with 202 Mn unique visitors.
Perhaps the biggest surprise on the list is ByteDance, which operates TikTok and Helo in India. With the rise in popularity of TikTok, Bytedance has managed to make it to the ninth spot in the March 2020 report. An unrelated Sensor Tower report found that TikTok was the most downloaded application in the world in Q1 2020. The Bytedance-owned application was downloaded over 315 Mn times across Google Play Store and App Store.
ByteDance had 197Mn views according to the report, while the other leading digital brands include homegrown ecommerce platform Flipkart in the fifth spot with 220Mn unique viewers and 54.6% reachability. Paytm, Truecaller and Network 18 also made the list.
The Boom In Internet Consumption
According to another report by Comscore, the online media consumption in India has seen significant growth across general news, entertainment, online gaming, and sports segments during phase one of the national lockdown. In the report, the company has highlighted the week-on-week (WoW) hike noted between March 23 to March 29, and the month-on-month (MoM) growth during the same period when compared to February 10-16, 2020.
General news tractions increased by 17% WoW and by 89% MoM. The entertainment segment noted a 32% WoW growth, and a 64% hike when compared to February 10 to 16. Similarly, the online gaming recorded a 22% WoW and 51% hike versus the period in February. Sports segment has also noted a 19% WoW and an 80% MoM growth.
Meanwhile, India has crossed over 500 Mn active internet users mark. The report titled ‘Digital in India’ curated by Nielsen, the country has around 504 Mn active internet users who are five years and above. The report highlighted that from March 2019 to November 2019, around 30 Mn new internet users came from rural areas, attributing this growth to increased penetration of smartphones and cheaper internet plans brought in by Reliance Jio.
Several other reports have also seen a rise in the consumption of vernacular content, noting an increased reaction from Tier 2, Tier 3 and beyond. A study by KPMG on the vernacular internet users in India has estimated that India will have over 735 Mn internet users by 2021, of which 73% or 536 Mn will be Indian language internet users. Even Google, claimed last November, that nine out of 10 new internet users in the country at present are consuming online content in Indian languages.
