As per a report by Google India, it has been identified that mobile phones are the major growth engine of the internet. The report outlines how the mass adoption of these devices has driven the acceptance of the newer services. In addition, the report outlines the main consumer trends that are based on the extent of the impact created by smartphones across the industries.
In India, there are more than 200 million mobile internet users. Such devices have captured around 60 percent share of the online shopping related queries, and 50 percent share of the travel related queries. Apart from queries, more than 60 percent of the YouTube views come from mobile devices and there has been a revival in the online job listings with more than 41 percent job related searches taking place from mobile phones.
These days, users are adopting to the hyperlocal services, purchasing furniture and beauty products online. The report highlights the changing behavior of the Indian users accessing the internet with a growth in the confidence to purchase products online. In the last year, 50 percent of the women shop online purchasing beauty products. There has been a 57 percent increase in the home furnishing search inquiries year on year on Google. The hyperlocal services witnessed fast adoption in the metro cities with an increase of 32 percent in the search queries year on year.
Regarding the same, Google India’s MD and VP, Rajan Anandan stated that people use the mobile internet for various activities such as planning a vacation, decorating homes, purchasing groceries, watching favorite videos online, etc. In fact, in many cases, the Indian users’ first experience online is through mobile. He added that there is a strong correlation to the actual sales of cars on the internet. It is clear that the Indian users are free to embrace the internet in an all new way. Notably, the tier 2 cities are driving the next big wave of growth from the smartphones.
