Indian users prefer WhatsApp over other apps to interact with businesses: Report

India has reached an unconventional milestone when it comes to online consumer behavior. According to a research conducted by London-based data analytics and brand consulting company Kantar, India tops the list of countries when it comes to users interacting with businesses online via messages. The report highlights the consumer behavior pattern in India and it concluded that Indian consumers want to connect with businesses the same way as they do with friends and family.

The Kantar global survey titled “Business Messaging Usage’ delves into the relationship between businesses and consumers and aims to understand how they interact with each other. Surprisingly, the survey found that in India, 86% of adults message a business at least once a week, considerably higher than the global average of 66%.

Indians prefer WhatsApp as their primary platform to interact with businesses

A major finding of the research is that Indians prefer WhatsApp over any other medium to communicate with businesses with more than 400 million consumers confirming the same. It was also interesting to note that 70 percent of those surveyed prefer text messaging over emails, calls or website support. 75 percent respondents also revealed that they were more likely to do repeat business with brands that are readily available over messages.

The Kantar research, which was commissioned by Meta, also found that the pandemic had greatly changed the way people communicated with brands. Majority (83%) of the people surveyed expect businesses to deploy quick and easy modes of communication, such as messaging whereas 72% of the people surveyed in India said they message with a business more often since the start of the pandemic. Interestingly 75% are more likely to do business with/purchase from a company that they can contact via messaging.

Ravi Garg, Director Business Messaging at Meta said, “We are seeing a massive shift in the way people and businesses communicate. Today, customers not only want a quick and easy way to connect with brands, but they also want to engage with a brand to learn more about their product while considering a purchase. In India, as the festive demand picks up, WhatsApp Business Platform is serving as a simple and scalable solution for many brands to stay close to their customers, provide product information, give personalized offers, get post purchase feedback and build richer customer engagement journeys."