Bharat is affluent, educated and digitally savvy: Sharechat Report

The finding shows 29% of Bharat users post content daily at least once as compared to 22% of India users; 39% of Bharat uses social media as primary news source

Bharat users are on par with India users when it comes to participating in online financial activities. In terms of choice of payment mode, Bharat users are adept at using UPI for online transactions and have a lead over India users in terms of net-banking and debit cards transactions online, said a report by ShareChat.

The report ‘Bharat-The Neo India’ in association with Group M further added that among Bharat users, 56% use UPI and 49% use mobile wallets multiple times a week. Breaking away from traditional means, Bharat users are investing in stocks, mutual funds, e-gold and even cryptocurrency.

The report defines Bharat users as those who prefer Indic languages and India users as one who prefer English.

The finding further stated that 29% of Bharat users post content daily at least once as compared to 22% of India users. Bharat chooses to stay updated via social media as 39% of Bharat uses it as their primary source of news consumption.

Like India, the majority of Bharat users prefer streaming free videos over watching TV. Daily, 50% of Bharat users stream free video online and about 47% watch TV. Social media also emerged as one of the primary influences for making buying decisions for Bharat users. Bharat is increasingly shopping online with 46% buying gadgets online in 2021, followed by other categories like travel bookings, food, clothing and accessories, beauty and skincare are also popular.

Ajit Varghese, Chief Commercial Officer of ShareChat, said, “It is interesting to note that the Language first users are at par with English language first users when it comes to digital presence, use of online transaction methods, and shopping habits. Bharat users also outrank when it comes to consuming news, food and beverages, health and fitness, and travel related categories online. Observing similar trends on our platforms.”

The findings in the report are based on a primary survey by YouGov, conducted among 3,432 social media users across 17 Indian states and with inputs from Kantar on Indic language urban active internet users.

From the media planning aspect, Bharat is unique in many ways. This is mostly because all the cities that make Bharat are Indic language-heavy, fragmented and display their own sets of consumer behaviour traits. This diversity in our country brings in its own challenges and opportunities. Brands and media planners looking to reach target audiences across the country should focus on a customized approach for this segment,” said Prasanth Kumar, CEO – GroupM South Asia.

BOX: Bharat v/s India  - Other key findings:

27% of Bharat users already using paid video streaming services daily

37% of Bharat users are listening to music, 36% are shopping, and 24% are ordering food online

In certain categories, Bharat users in specific regions drive higher engagement

            o   South: Gaming (39%), Food & Drinks (32%) and Travel (22%)

            o   West: Travel (22%)

            o   North: Health and Fitness (29%)

In terms of voice search, Bharat users are leading with 26%, as compared to 15% of Indian users.

21% of Bharat posts content 4-5 times a week compared to 17% of India

One in five from Bharat invests in cryptocurrency