NEW DELHI, India — Social media platforms now influence 77 percent of retail purchase decisions in India, with Meta platforms accounting for 96 percent of social discovery, according to a report released on Wednesday.
The report, jointly published by Meta and the Retailers Association of India, said short-form video and creator-led content are rapidly accelerating product discovery, with 97 percent of consumers watching short videos daily. It added that 60 percent of time spent on Facebook and Instagram is now devoted to video content.
Messaging platforms are also playing a central role in shopping decisions. The report found that 72 percent of product discovery occurs on WhatsApp, highlighting the growing importance of conversational commerce.
Retailers using Business Messaging and Click-to-WhatsApp campaigns are seeing a 61 percent average improvement in return on ad spend, a 62 percent increase in leads generated, and 22 percent higher order values, the report said, reinforcing the impact of direct, conversation-driven engagement on sales.
The findings also showed that omnichannel shoppers deliver significantly higher value, spending 2.5 times more than single-channel shoppers and up to 73 percent more when engaging across multiple touchpoints.
According to the report, AI-driven shopping tools are increasingly being used to link online campaigns with offline outcomes, optimizing digital marketing efforts to drive verifiable in-store sales.
“There has been a fundamental shift in retail: consumers no longer move between online and offline; they operate across both at once,” said Hitesh Bhatt, director of marketing and communications at the Retailers Association of India. “Discovery, influence, and purchase now happen through content, creators, conversations, and stores, often in the same journey.”
Meghna Apparao, director for e-commerce and retail in India at Meta, said retailers should adopt omnichannel performance marketing strategies to connect with consumers seamlessly across platforms while maximizing reach and impact. She also urged businesses to use WhatsApp as a direct and personalized channel for customer engagement and commerce.
The report noted that Indian consumers are increasingly embracing a “phygital” shopping approach, with more than half researching products online before purchasing in-store, and a similar proportion researching in physical stores before completing purchases online. (Source: IANS)
