Comscore is an American media measurement and analytics company that provides data and analytics to media and advertising agencies, enterprises, and publishers. The Comscore has recently released the 2020 Digital Media Highlights in India report and it covered important aspects of digital consumption in India during and after the lockdown. The report consists of information about areas where the use of digital platforms was increased during the pandemic time.
The report stated that online streaming stood at the center of entertainment with YouTube and Disney Hotstar being top. The online news informed people about the increase or decrease in the COVID cases. The schools, colleges, and companies were closed and thus there was a huge dependency on online sites. Marketers need to know about the number of visitors across various platforms to connect with the customers. The report also included an inclination towards remote working which was evident from the increase in usage of Business Continuity tools and it was also reported that the audio and video streaming continued to be top in the list even after the lockdown was relaxed.
The report also consisted of information regarding the impact of lockdown on outdoor activities. The demand for the travel category faced a decline of 90% in total minutes in April 2020 and later airlines, car booking apps, and hotels received a gradual increase with the relaxation of lockdown. The travel category is approximately 66% of pre-COVID levels in terms of engagement with 4.6 billion total minutes in Nov 2020. The maps or GPS or the traffic category faced a decline of 80% in engagement during January and April. It was reported that the navigation category was almost 70% of pre-COVID levels from Jan 2020 with 3 billion minutes spent in Nov 2020. One of the categories that were greatly impacted by the lockdown was the sports category due to the cancellation of sports events. The time spent by customers on sports sites and apps had declined 87%.
The use of digital platforms has largely during the lockdown phase. The engagement with Business Continuity tools has continued increasing even post lockdown. The organizations in India are rethinking about making remote working a permanent thing and thus this space would be one of the interesting things to focus on in 2021. The other categories that received an increase in usage are online education where companies like Byjus received a 291% increase in total minutes spent on their sites. It is evident from the report that the online platforms received a huge increase in engagement
