A major chunk of Indian online shoppers in India discover beauty and fashion brands on Meta platforms, a study conducted by the social media juggernaut in partnership with consumer research platform GWI found.

The survey was conducted across 74 cities with participation from more than 2,000 consumers aged between 6 and 64 years.

The Meta GWI Beauty Report 2023 underlined that 80% of the surveyed shoppers discovered beauty brands on social media. Of this, 92% of the social media users found beauty products on Meta platforms, including 47% through Instagram Reels.

Similarly, 76% of surveyed consumers found fashion brands on social media, with 97% users discovering such products via Meta platforms. Of the 97%, Instagram Reels made up for 52% of the traction. 

As per the report, Instagram Reels drove 33% and 39% of beauty and fashion purchases, respectively, after discovery on the short video platform. 

According to the report, a significant shift in consumer preferences was noticed post the pandemic. Currently, 68% of beauty buyers prefer online purchases, up 15% from the pre-pandemic period.

Meta India’s director for ecommerce and retail Meghna Apparao said, “Both beauty and fashion verticals are growing rapidly on Meta, with an increasing number of advertisers using Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to engage with customers. Social media transformed the purchase experience and journey for these industries, creating an urgent need for brands and marketers to engage with consumers differently, especially during the ongoing festive and upcoming wedding season.”

The study further claimed that Indian consumers rely majorly on content creators for information and reviews. The survey noted that 66.6% of fashion content viewers and 70% of beauty content viewers followed influencers which drove purchasing decisions. 

Curiously, the study also pointed to the growing popularity of augmented reality (AR) in brand and product discovery. 75% of the surveyed beauty shoppers and 78% of fashion consumers reported that virtual product try-ons encouraged them to make purchases online. 

Since opening its first office in India in 2010, the social media juggernaut has rapidly expanded its presence in the country. India is one of the biggest markets for the company and accounted for nearly 500 Mn Facebook and WhatsApp users each at the end of June 2023. As per Statista, Instagram’s user base in India stood at 223 Mn at the end of July 2023. 

Each of these offerings cater to a wide set of audiences and the family of apps have emerged as the most popular social media platforms in the country. As a result, these platforms have emerged as a lucrative source for Meta’s ad revenues and for brands to pitch their products directly. 

This has spruced up the company’s bottomline and shored up revenues. To put this in perspective, the Indian arm of Meta, Facebook India Online Services, reported a gross advertising revenue of INR 18,308 Cr in FY23, up 13% year-on-year, and posted a net profit of INR 352 Cr, up 19% YoY.

As per Inc42, the homegrown internet opportunity is projected to soar to $1.6 Tn by 2025 and this is what Meta aims to capitalise on.