Mumbai: Ahead of World Social Media Day, Hansa Research has released findings from its Advertising Impact Measurement (AIM) Study, offering fresh insights into India’s rapidly evolving digital consumption landscape. The study highlights a notable shift in consumer behaviour, with video-first platforms emerging as the biggest winners in the battle for attention and engagement.
According to the findings, YouTube continues to dominate India’s digital ecosystem, reaching 93% of consumers and recording an average daily engagement time of 61 minutes. Instagram follows closely as the second-most engaging platform, with 71% consumer reach and an average of 58 minutes spent per day, underlining the growing influence of visual and short-form content formats in everyday digital consumption.
The study also points to an emerging distinction between platform reach and actual engagement. While platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook remain deeply embedded in consumers’ digital lives, reaching 65% and 60% of users respectively, average daily time spent remains comparatively lower at 34 minutes for WhatsApp and 41 minutes for Facebook. The findings suggest that broad user adoption alone no longer guarantees sustained consumer attention.
Streaming platforms also continue to demonstrate the strength of immersive content experiences. Disney+ Hotstar, despite reaching 27% of consumers, records an average engagement time of 54 minutes per day. Amazon Prime users spend an average of 58 minutes daily despite a reach of 19%, while Netflix users clock 51 minutes of engagement with a reach of 12%. The data indicates that although OTT audiences may be smaller in scale, they exhibit significantly deeper engagement.
The study concludes that consumer attention is increasingly concentrating around platforms that offer richer, video-driven experiences, signalling an important shift in how platform performance and influence may be measured in the future.
Commenting on the findings, Praveen Nijhara, CEO, Hansa Research, said, “The findings highlight a fundamental shift in the digital ecosystem. While reach remains important, attention has become the true measure of influence. Platforms that are able to consistently engage consumers and become part of their daily routines are emerging as clear winners. The strong performance of YouTube and Instagram, alongside the deep engagement witnessed on OTT platforms, reflects consumers’ growing preference for video-led experiences. For brands and marketers, understanding where consumers spend their time is becoming just as important as understanding where they are present.”
