Snapchat aims to attract Indian Gen Z with tailored experiences
Snapchat is honing in on the creation of tailored experiences in India to draw in more Generation Z users, Pulkit Trivedi, India's Managing Director for Snap Inc. told Moneycontrol. The company boasts over 200 million monthly active users in the country. Given India's status as one of the nations with the youngest populations, it is viewed as a crucial market for Snapchat's future expansion.
Leveraging Indian market insights for global growth
Evan Spiegel, Snap Inc.'s CEO, earlier expressed that the company is utilizing knowledge gained from its growth initiatives in India, to foster community expansion in new territories. Trivedi now underscores the immense potential of the Indian market, pointing out that a quarter of Snapchat's monthly active users (over 800 million) hail from India. He further stressed the substantial potential for further growth in this area.
Augmented reality initiatives cater to Indian audience
Snapchat is concentrating on developing augmented reality (AR) experiences via localized lenses featured on the Snapchat Camera. Trivedi disclosed that nearly 80% of users in India engage with Snapchat lenses daily, with usage surging during festive periods. The company recently introduced a Holi Lens for the Holi festival and intends to provide relevant lenses for other celebratory events such as Pongal, Eid, and Diwali.
Local content powers Snapchat's swift expansion
According to Trivedi, local content has played a significant role in propelling Snapchat's growth in India. He revealed that India has witnessed some of the fastest-growing content consumption rates, with Snapchat tripling its content consumption duration over the past two years. This surge is primarily driven by Spotlight, Snapchat's platform for user-generated short-form video content, similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels. Over 120 million out of 200 million Snapchat users in India engage with content through Stories and Spotlight formats.
Company strives to cultivate developer ecosystem
Snapchat is also striving to foster a robust developer ecosystem in India, capitalizing on the country's substantial pool of AR developers. Trivedi noted that the company is launching an outreach initiative in India to inspire more developers to craft lenses for users, businesses, and brands on the platform. These endeavors form part of Snapchat's wider strategy to monetize its operations in India.
Snapchat's revenue drive targets Indian digital ad market
Snapchat is aiming to entice more brands to develop AR-centric experiences to engage Gen Z consumers and enhance product sales in India. Trivedi has emphasized the potential of digital advertising in India, stating that the country's digital AdEx has ballooned to approximately $10 billion today and is projected to more than double over the next five to 10 years. This revenue drive constitutes a key component of Snapchat's growth strategy in the nation.
