Influencers, messaging, videos, AR key to wooing 2022 Diwali shopper: Meta

The report highlights that 93% of Diwali shoppers are likely to try a new brand in the holiday season, 80% now discover new brands or products online

Influencer-led content, short-form videos, messaging and interactive formats such as AR are all critical to winning the mindspace of the Diwali shopper in 2022, according to Meta’s annual consumer insight report. The study adds that 80 per cent of Diwali shoppers engaged with influencer-led content on Meta technologies.

The report found that 53 per cent of Diwali shoppers make discoveries online through influencers. More than half the shoppers surveyed said they engage with video content at the same level or even more during Diwali, as  compared to other times of the year.

The report highlights that 93 per cent of Diwali shoppers are likely to try a new brand in the holiday season, and that 80 per cent of Diwali shoppers now discover new brands or products online. The study also highlighted that 79 per cent of all festival shoppers have discovered new products and brands on Meta Technologies.

The insights are derived from a Meta commissioned study by YouGov that dives deep into the evolving consumer trends around festive shopping.

Arun Srinivas, Director, Global Business Group (India) at Meta, said, “We see optimism flowing into the festive season, which could be a boon for businesses, small and large, amid a challenging global macroeconomic environment. We’ve already begun a lot of exciting work with businesses of all sizes for their festive season campaigns. Digital has emerged as the strongest touchpoint to reach the consumer, irrespective of whether they choose to close the purchase either online or offline, and Meta technologies are playing a central role in this with 440mn Indians just on Facebook.”

Key Consumer Trends

Consumers are increasingly looking at online to discover new products and brands:

93% of Diwali shoppers are likely to try a new brand in the holiday season

80% Of all Diwali shoppers discovered a new brand or product online and 79% of all

Diwali shoppers discovered them on Meta Technologies.

68% of Diwali Mega Sales Days shoppers discovered discounts and offers through Meta

Influencers are driving purchase decisions for the Diwali shopper:

80% of Diwali shoppers engaged with influencer-led content on Meta technologies.

53% of Diwali shoppers make discoveries online through influencers

56% agree that public figures/ celebrities influence their purchase decisions

Short-form videos see strong engagement by festive shoppers:

More than 50% of surveyed shoppers engage with video content as much or even more during Diwali compared to other times of the year

83% of Diwali shoppers have consumed short user-generated videos on Meta technologies.

Real time interaction via messaging helps festive shoppers make a purchase decision:
 

57% Diwali shoppers are more likely to consider purchasing from business if they were able to contact them via instant messaging.

Meta’s messaging services have been most used to engage with a business in Diwali

2021: 56% respondents said they had used WhatsApp, and 35% said they had used Messenger and Instagram DM to contact a business.

The Indian festive consumer is seeking interactive experiences during Diwali shopping:

74% believe AR / VR tools would be influential in their holiday purchasing decisions
70% likely to explore products using tools like AR or VR whilst shopping online during Diwali

The Diwali shoppers are seeking communication in their language:

53% of Diwali shoppers find it important to have information in their language when shopping;

Three in four Diwali shoppers prefer seeing adverts in their local language during seasonal shopping;

All key trends below are from the ‘Diwali Seasonal Moment 2021 Report by YouGov (Meta Commissioned Study)’