India’s big love for short videos to make market $12 billion-strong by 2030: Report

The Indian short-form video market has been on a strong growth trajectory ever since the pandemic. Following the TikTok ban by the Indian government in mid-2020, the void was quickly filled by global giants Google (YouTube Shorts) and Meta (Instagram Reels) besides home-grown platforms like Moj, Josh, Chingari and MX TakaTak among others. 

Such is their growth and level of engagement that they are now not only competing with global players in terms of monthly active users (MAU), daily active users (DAU) and time spent, but also outperforming them in three of the top five content genres -- Music/Dance, Dialogue/Acting and Comedy -- says a report by Redseer strategy consulting. 

The report attributed the growth largely to linguistically and culturally diverse content.  Hindi continues to be at top followed by English in terms of the popularity of the language of SVF content. 

According to the report, Indian SFV market monetisation is at the cusp of a breakout and could potentially be an opportunity of $8-$12 billion by 2030. Most of it will be driven by influencer marketing. 

These platforms are expected to capture around 40% of the $8-$12 billion video commerce market in 2030 with the top three categories being fashion and beauty & personal care and packaged food & beverages, the report states. 

Industry experts believe that the reason behind the rise in consumption of short-form videos is due to the audience's decreasing attention span, engaging content and language localisation has made it easier for millions of users to follow their favorite creators in their respective languages. 

Udit Sharma, Chief Revenue Officer, ShareChat and Moj, opines, “Indians are loving SFV apps because of a combination of reasons. A behavioral shift towards consuming content that's short has happened especially during the pandemic. Users are tired of browsing content on long form destinations, and decision fatigue while deciding what to watch is a real phenomenon.”

Sharma added, “On Moj (300 million MAU), a user launches the app, and can start consuming fun, authentic content right away without having to decide what to watch. Moj's biggest differentiator is that our algorithms are designed to serve content that's highly relatable, relevant, and culturally nuanced. This has resulted in an average consumption of 34 mins per user day and a 10X growth in our creator driven revenue.”

The opportunities that short video platforms offer to break out are not only restricted to the young but are now being embraced by people in middle age too, says GBS Bindra, Chief Business Officer of Hipi, a short video app.  

Bindra explained, “For instance, Garima Gupta (50) won our singing contest-Supermom challenge- on Hipi by showcasing her unique ability to sing a song in reverse effortlessly and got an invite to perform at a big reality show on national TV.”

Desi Indian apps offer a unique opportunity for users to connect with their local community, find like-minded creators, and gain the inspiration and motivation needed to achieve their goals, says Ian Goh, CEO of  Tiki. 

Brands are just scratching the surface

Brands have also started allocating more ad money toward the short-video space although they are just scratching the surface yet as far as SFV platforms are concerned, an ad industry expert quips. An earlier Redseer report noted that SFV would attract 10-20% of India’s total digital ad revenue by 2030. 

Some apps have started to see an increase in brand collaborations over the past year. Moj, for instance, has attracted brands like Fanta, SUGAR Cosmetics, Realme, and Manyavar. 

Sumit Ghosh, CEO and Co-Founder, Chingari, says, “Indian brands have just started to realize the potential of SFV platforms. This is a win-win situation for both the SFV platforms and the brands, as they can get a highly engaged audience in a way that connects with them and drives better business outcomes.”

As brands use these platforms more innovatively and impactfully, they can create even stronger connections with their consumers, experts noted. 

“There is an enormous scope of innovation here that only a handful of brands are yet utilizing. For example, the Hipi app allows brands to natively place their brand, product, or service within the video content that is likely to be viewed by their audience. This builds brand consideration while viewers consume videos as they scroll through the feed in the app”, Bindra says.

Creator economy 

Over the last couple of years, influencer marketing has emerged as an increasingly popular marketing strategy in India. 

However, out of nearly 8 crore creators, only 1.5 lakh are able to monetise their services effectively.

The report projects the marketing spend on influencers to be worth $2.8-$3.5 billion in 2028, almost 10-fold compared to the current spend. 

The findings emphasized that there is a need for a tech-enabled, transparent, and scalable solution for influencers and brands to engage. The report also observed that user-generated content (UGC) platforms are developing creator marketplaces that can become a centralized network for creators to connect with brands.

This can benefit both creators and brands, as it provides a platform for creators to showcase their work and for brands to find suitable creators to work with.

“Currently, brands and influencers mostly engage via intermediary agencies – a model that is broken and lacks efficiency. Agencies may take a significant cut of the compensation for their services, which can reduce the amount of money that influencers receive. And so, there is a need for a tech-enabled, transparent and scalable solution. Creator marketplaces can bridge this gap”, says Mohit Rana, Partner, Redseer Strategy Consultants. 

“The platforms that prioritize creating a healthy ecosystem for creators, fostering a strong sense of community, and delivering value to key stakeholders are best equipped to provide Indian creators with the resources they need to thrive on”, says Goh.