India’s short-form video market is rapidly growing with each passing year. This exploded growth is fueled by the country’s young and tech-savvy population. According to the recent report by Redseer Strategy Consultants, the Indian short-form video market is on the brink of a major monetization boom, with a market value estimated to reach between $8 billion and $12 billion by 2030.
Homegrown short-form video apps, such as Moj, Josh, MX TakTaka, Chingari, and Roposo, have made significant progress in quantity and quality content, putting them on par with their global counterparts. Music/Dance, Comedy, and Dialogue/Acting are the top three content genres where Indian short video apps outperformed global SFVs.
The Indian short-form video market has witnessed robust growth since the entry of TikTok, owned by ByteDance, in 2017. The app became incredibly popular among Indian users, propelling its worldwide user base to new heights. As a result, there has been a surge in the number of new local influencers and content providers.
However, the Indian government imposed a ban on TikTok in June 2020, citing national security concerns. This resulted in a massive void in the Indian short-form video market, which was quickly filled by global players such as YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Besides these global giants, several homegrown platforms like Moj, Josh, MX TakTaka, Chingari, and Roposo emerged as popular alternatives for Indian users to consume and create short-form videos.
Since then, India’s short-form video market has been growing at an impressive pace and showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Key Findings
- India’s spending on influencer marketing will more than double from $0.35-0.4 billion in 2022 to $2.8-3.5 billion by 2028.
- According to Mohit Rana, a Partner at Redseer Strategy Consultants, the current approach of connecting brands and influencers through intermediary agencies is ineffective and inefficient. These agencies take a sizable chunk of the compensation for their services, reducing the amount of money influencers receive. A technology-driven, transparent, and scalable approach could be the solution to bridge this gap.
- Video commerce is gaining traction among short-form and e-commerce platforms such as Amazon Live, Myntra M-Live, Meesho, etc., as they aim to improve customer engagement and drive sales.
- Interestingly, the video commerce market is expected to reach $3 to $4 billion by 2030, representing 40% of the total short-form video market in India.
- The top three categories that will witness explosive growth in short-form video platforms are fashion and beauty (53%), personal care (45%), and packaged food and beverages (35%).
- Hindi is the most favoured language for content consumption in metro and tier 1 cities, followed by English and other regional languages.
- The user-generated content (UGC) platforms are creating marketplaces for creators, which could potentially serve as a centralized network for connecting with brands.
- Virtual gifting on Indian short-form video platforms is projected to reach $1.7 billion by 2030.
- The short-form video advertising market in India is estimated to grow from $50 million in FY222 to $80-$90 million in FY23 and $3-$6 billion in FY30.
Takeaway
The short-form video platforms in India have experienced a significant increase in content consumption, with an active user base of 300 million. In fact, RedSeer had predicted last year that short-video platforms would surpass over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platforms in terms of content consumption by 2022.
Ajay Vidyasagar, the Regional Director-Asia Pacific for YouTube Partnerships, highlighted that YouTube Shorts, which recently celebrated its second anniversary in India, has been generating 30 billion views per day, with 1.5 billion logged-in users every month worldwide.
Dheeraj Kummar, the National Creative Director of Motivator, expressed that short-form video content is highly effective in generating a solid shared emotion, as they are often contextualized to current events, local trends, and popular culture. He also highlighted that there are no barriers to consuming short video content, such as freemium or premium subscriptions.
Due to the exploded adoption of smartphones and the Internet, short-form video content has become increasingly popular among teens and young adults. However, several other factors are driving the growth. One significant factor is the declining attention span of viewers looking for quick and easily digestible content. Additionally, viewers are constantly seeking new and authentic content that resonates with them, and short-form video platforms provide a steady stream of fresh and innovative content. Another important factor driving the consumption of short-form video content is the ease of shareability, making it effortless for viewers to share content with friends and family, further contributing to its popularity.
