MUMBAI: The digital and social media agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, WATConsult, under its market research division, Recogn, has launched its latest report on Instagram in India from a user's perspective.

The report focuses on the user’s point of view on Instagram, highlighting usage patterns, content likeability, celebrity influence and what pushes them to shop on the platform. Interestingly, ads on Instagram that are perceived to be appealing lead users to search for more information for the said products or services, enabling users to shop. More than 75 per cent of the shoppers have had a satisfactory experience while shopping from Instagram and a majority of them are likely to shop in the future as well. Instagram, which was perceived to be a discovery platform because of visual nature and stickiness, has over time transformed itself into a platform that induces discovery as well as an influence leading to a purchase decision.

 Below are some key findings of the report:

·       Currently, Instagram has 117.1 million monthly active users and average time spent per user is 45 minutes

·       Instagrammers spend most of the time on the platform in the evening between 4-8 PM

·       For the users to be willing to purchase something on Instagram, they need to be made aware of the authenticity of the product. More than 75 per cent of the shoppers have had a satisfactory experience while shopping from Instagram and a majority are likely to shop in the future

·       84 per cent of the users are influenced by the platform resulting in likelihood to shop via Instagram

·       More than 50 per cent of the consumers have shopped using Instagram. Close to 75 per cent of the users from small metros and small towns have shopped using Instagram

·       51 per cent of the Instagrammers access it at least once a day with a large proportion of Instagram users accessing it multiple times in a day (32 per cent)

·       29 per cent of users prefer to upload images in the experiential categories or upload images of traveling, food etc. 26 per cent of the users like to upload videos and 24 per cent of the users upload stories, etc.

Speaking on the same, WATConsult founder and CEO Rajiv Dingra said, “Instagram as a platform has grown tremendously in the last 2 years, and the user adaption rate is very quick. The app has a strong presence in the remotest of the city in our country. With this report, we are bringing forward to the industry, the behavioral patterns of the users, shopping habits and trends which can indeed add value to the brands in terms of shaping their marketing strategies.”

According to the research, the usage of the social media platform Instagram is one of the highest amongst the respondent base. Users prefer to use social media platforms that they perceive to be informative, cool, enjoyable, popular and creative. The users perceive Instagram to be cool and somewhat interesting and trendy. One of the primary reasons people prefer to use this platform is for entertainment, to get inspired by seeing creative content from famous celebs in addition to being able to express their views.