With the festive season only a few months away, a brand-new survey by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, reveals the important role social media and content creators play in influencing purchase decisions.
Meta commissioned a survey by YouGov which shared important insights for the upcoming festive season, giving marketers a clear understanding of how consumers are shopping, discovering products and services, and celebrating festivals like Diwali.
YouGov surveyed 1,523 adults in India between 23rd October and 9th November in order to make their study as comprehensive as possible. These were some of their findings:
- Personalized content through ads on social channels is becoming more important for Diwali shoppers, with 69% agreeing that it was easier to complete their Diwali shopping with personalized products and gift suggestions on Facebook and Instagram.
- Diwali shoppers seek online content in their local language. 76% of Diwali shoppers prefer to see advertising in the local language, growing significantly year-on-year.
- Engagement with online video happens on Meta technologies. 8 in 10 Diwali shoppers use Meta technologies to watch videos. Meta technologies is the most important channel for short form videos (87%) and creator content (79%).
- Influencer and creator content influences purchases, as 66 % of Diwali shoppers agree that creators influence their purchase decisions.
- Business Messaging continues to grow in India during Diwali. 8 in 10 shoppers used WhatsApp (64%), Instagram (39%) and Messenger (38%) to engage with a business during Diwali. 66% of Diwali shoppers are more likely to consider purchasing from a business if they can contact them via instant messaging.
- AR & VR are valued during Diwali. There is a noticeable increase in the proportion of Diwali shoppers likely to use AR and VR tools to explore products. 3 out of 5 shoppers feel AR experiences help get them into the Diwali spirit, and ultimately help their purchase decisions.
- Raksha Bandhan and Dussehra offer sales potential that nearly match Diwali. In addition to Diwali, almost 8 in 10 also shopped for Raksha Bandhan and Dussehra in 2022.
According to Arun Srinivas, Director and Head of the Ads Business, Facebook India (Meta), the festive season is a time when businesses gear up for heightened consumer demand, and marketers look for effective ways to tap into this demand. He believes that Meta’s insights, along with the reach of their platforms, highly engaged audience and investments in Reels, Business Messaging and technology like AI, will help in this regard.
What is particularly striking about this survey is its emphasis on content creators. Almost two thirds of consumers agree that creators influence their purchasing decisions, and several of the other results of this survey, such as the importance of personalized content and demand for local in their local language, point towards the demand for individualized content and direct connections. These are all achieved by influencers,
Leave feedback about this