E-tailers' mobile apps a favourite among Indians

Active users download 2-3 apps a day; e-commerce apps account for 50% of the 850,000 downloads from FreePaisa

  While convenience and discounts have lured millions of Indian consumers to online retail, it now seems buyers are now increasingly opting for ‘anytime anywhere’ shopping through mobile phones. This reflects in the fact that mobile applications (apps) of e-commerce companies are among the most downloaded in the country.

According to an analysis of downloads by consumers through FreePaisa, a reward application, 55 per cent of the 850,000 app downloads were those related to online shopping. The brands that saw the highest number of downloads were of Jabong, PayTM, Flipkart, and Makemytrip.

FreePaisa is a mobile app that offers rewards to subscribers, primarily in the form of mobile recharge, for downloading and trying mobile apps through its platform. It allows marketers to promote their apps and get connected to consumers. Developed by a Bengaluru-based start-up, Vavia Technologies, the FreePaisa app has over 100,000 monthly active users.

Users in Maharashtra and Delhi download the most apps from FreePaisa, followed by those from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka.

Besides e-commerce, utility-related apps like mobile booking providers, traffic information providers and payment-enabling apps are among those liked by users. FreePaisa saw a high number of downloads of Traffline and BillBachao.

While games are also a favourite among mobile users, these generate a mixed response, depending on the size of apps. Users tend to avoid downloading those that are bigger in size. 

According to the analysis, an average active mobile user downloads two-three apps every day.