New opportunities ahead as mobile onliners set to reach 173 mn in India
Following the unprecedented rise in the mobile consumers in India, internet is expected to witness its next wave of consumers through the mobile device, according to industry experts. By the end of the current year, internet users in India are expected to cross the 300 million mark while mobile internet users are estimated to reach 173 million, according to report by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
Pranav Bhasin, MakeMyTrip.com
Pranav Bhasin, Vice President- Online Products of MakeMy Trip, said, “Mobile Internet has become the game changer in travel industry. Mobile today is fastest growing channel in India and more than 13 per cent of our total transaction happens via mobile. Lots of our growth is coming from tier 2 and tier 3 cities that too via mobile.”
Further, the government of India is also undertaking several initiatives to foster digital advancements in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative of Digital India seeks to provide broadband connectivity to over 2.5 lakh panchayats in the country.
Sachin Kapur, Groupon
“At present mobile is going to be the most influential aspect of ecommerce business in India,” said Sachin Kapur, Head Marketing – APAC Emerging Markets at Groupon. The recent uptick in ecommerce in India has been attributed to the increased use of internet services in India.
Marketers must take care that the importance of local content should not be neglected while creating content for the web. As the number of internet users in India is picking up, marketers and advertisers must understand that a wider and much varied audience will be accessing the internet services and they must be able to find relevant content in their local language.
Sukirti Gupta, MMI Online
Talking on the importance of local content, Sukirti Gupta, Chief Executive Officer of MMI Online said, “In the next two to three years, mobile users in India will surpass the English language speaking population and we cannot ignore them. The consumption of mobile is increasing day by day.”
Relevance of content should gain precedence over other attributes of web content to ensure that it reaches the consumers. One of the major advantages of new media over traditional media such as newspaper and television is that internet helps in reaching a more focussed audience and marketers must leverage this opportunity in the internet space.
Ambrish Bajaj, Jabong.com
“As more Indians start using the internet on phones, they are gaining access to products and services that were not very easy to find or access,” observed Ambrish Bajaj, Head of Mobile and Apps at Jabong.com, and added, “We are also witnessing that mobile internet consumption habits have evolved in recent times. A lot of users are watching movies on their smart-phones and streaming videos online.”
