Indians Make In-app Purchases from Mobile Messaging Apps: Study

RMN Digital | August 20, 2014 | Surveys | No Comments

A study conducted by InMobi, an independent mobile advertising platform, to understand the consumer behavior of mobile messaging apps on smartphones in India has shown that Indians prefer price points that range between Rs. 71 and Rs. 129 for making in-app purchases.

In-app purchases are usually add-ons like emoticons, games, stickers and virtual currency among others. While 1 in 5 mobile Internet users have already made an in-app purchase when using a mobile messaging / chat application, about 18% are likely to consider it. One-third of the users make in-app purchases mainly to get additional features.

[ Also Read: Global Mobile Advertising Revenue Hits $19.3 Billion ]

The Mobile Messaging App study conducted on device between May to June 2014 covered 455 smartphone users in India. The study showed that 95% of messaging app users in India access messaging apps multiple times in a day and that messaging apps were the preferred way for communication, bypassing even social networks and voice calls.

RMN Digital comments: While there are an estimated 100 million smartphone users in India, a research study based on a sample of mere 455-odd respondents is meaningless.

As part of their sales gimmicks, companies keep releasing findings from such armchair studies and surveys to entice the gullible consumers or enterprise buyers. You can simply ignore all such studies and their findings.

The study says young mobile users in the age group 18-24 are leading the charge on using messaging apps. The older generation (35 – 44 years of age) is also taking to these apps, driven by their ease of use.

Top 5 factors that influence download of mobile messaging apps are –

Staying in touch with friends – 44%
Sharing photos and videos – 39%
Staying in touch with family – 30%
Group messaging – 21%
Cost – 18%

Browsing app stores, word-of-mouth and mobile ads are the top 3 drivers of mobile messaging apps amongst users. Advertisements on TV and outdoor appear to have limited influence on driving adoption of mobile messaging apps.

Browsing the App Store – 47%
Word of Mouth – 43%
Ads on Mobile Device – 14%
Ads on TV – 9%
Outdoor Ads – 5%

The increased smartphone penetration in India is also contributing for greater access to mobile messaging apps, observes the study. In an estimated 900 million users who are on mobile devices, nearly 10 percent are already on smartphones.

Mobile Messaging Apps

“Mobile advertising has definitely shown its effectiveness over other media for user growth,” said Jayesh Easwaramony, VP & general manager, APAC, Middle East and Africa, InMobi.

InMobi released its research findings today, August 20.