Indian Shortform video : Ready to leapfrog towards monetization?

Indian Shortform
video : Ready to
leapfrog towards
monetization?
October, 2021

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Short-
form video
continues
its growth
journey
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
High content
freshness and
relevance key
differentiators
driving usage
Live
commerce
and virtual
gifting
emerging
as other
monetization
opportunities
Largest digital
medium to
reach “bharat”
user base at
scale- starting
to attract
digital ad $s
but still under-
leveraged
Fresh
Personalized
Content +
Higher Creator
Reach driving
platform NPS
Agenda

Short-form video
continues its growth
journey
1.

5
Indian Shortform video : Ready to leapfrog towards monetization?
Short-form video continues its growth journey
The sector has been on the rise on the back of strong performance by home-grown
platforms
Note: 1. Shortform Video does not include IG Reels, FB Watch and YT Shorts
Source(s): RedSeer IP, RedSeer Analysis
Pre Tik-Tok Ban vs Post Tik-Tok Ban – Shortform User Base and Engagement Analysis
June 2020 Values Indexed to 1
0.45x Time Spent
1.37x MAU
1X
1.10x DAU
Tik-Tok Ban Snack Video Ban
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
Aug-
21
Sep-
21
Jul-
20
Aug-
20
Sep-
20
Oct-
20
Nov-
20
Dec-
20
Jan-
21
Feb-
21
Mar-
21
Apr-
21
May-
21
Jun-
21
Jul-
21
Feb-
20
Mar-
20
Apr-
20
May-
20
Jun-
20

6
Top-line metrics have grown by >40% driven by higher user base + engagement
Short-form video MAU (Mn) Short-form video DAU (Mn) Time-spent on Short-form video apps per
day (Bn mins)
Note: 1. This only includes India standalone apps. IG Reels, FB Watch and YT Shorts are not considered
2. TikTok got banned in Q2CY20
3. MAU and DAU numbers are based on Unique Users in the industry
182
261
43%
58
95
64%
1.9
3.1
64%
Q3 CY20 Q3 CY21
Q3 CY20 Q3 CY21
Q3 CY20 Q3 CY21

7
DAU/ MAU in % Time spent per DAU in mins D-30 retention in %
Note: 1. This only includes India standalone apps. IG Reels, FB Watch and YT Shorts are not considered
2. TikTok got banned in Q2CY20
3. MAU and DAU numbers are based on Unique Users in the industry
Core engagement metrics continue to improve
33 33
32% 37%
+5pp
20%
39%
Q3 CY20 Q3 CY21
Q3 CY20 Q3 CY21
Q3 CY20 Q3 CY21
2X

8
Continuous increase in engagement outside top-50 cities and currently
accounts 9% of time spent on overall content consumption
Time Spent on Content across sectors
In Bn Mins, JAS 2021
Note: 1. Shortform Video does not include IG Reels, FB Watch and YT Shorts
2. Global Social Media includes Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, etc; India Social Media includes Dailyhunt, Sharechat, Inshorts, etc.
Source(s): RedSeer benchmarks IP, RedSeer Analysis
While Global Social
Media dominates in the
Top 50 cities, Indian
Social Media platforms
and shortform video
platforms garner major
chunk of share in the ROI
66%
48%
16%
20%
9%
21%
4% 9%
5% 2%
OTT Audio
Shortform Video
Indian Social Media
OTT Video
Global Social Media
Top 50 Cities
~2100 ~2025
ROI

9
Large part of new user acquisition driven by on-ground activations and high-
decibel marketing campaigns
Growth Enablers -
Primary marketing
events across the
platforms drive 40-50%
of the Annual Traffic
growth
Primary Marketing Events

10
FB and Instagram jump on the bandwagon by “converting” social media time
to short-form video
Total Time Spent on Facebook and Instagram per day
Q1CY21 v/s Q3CY21, In Bn Mins
While overall time sent growth has been
organic at ~8%, non social media (shortform
video) time has grown at 57%, indicating
not just the growth in shortform video, but
also a shift from social media consumption
to shortform video
93%
Q1CY21 Q3CY21
89%
7%
11%
Social Media Non-Social Media (Shortform Video)
~12 Bn mins
~13 Bn mins
Growth
Overall ~8%
Non-Social Media ~ 57%
Social Media ~ 4%

High content freshness
and relevance key
differentiators driving
usage
2.

12
High content fresh-ness and relevance key differentiators driving usage
Content Freshness and relevance is the key factor for retention of users
Factors relevant for retention of users
What factor will make you stop using the Short video apps?
N= 890 JAS’ 21
Source(s): RedSeer benchmarks IP, RedSeer Analysis, Customer Survey - 890
5%
6%
8%
10%
18%
25%
51%
Lack of good ﬁlters/tools for video creation
Less live-stream/ creator connect events
Lack of upgradations in UI app updates
High Frequency of Ads
Uninteresting hashtag challenges and contests
Sub-par video recommendations/ irrelevant
language videos
Poor Content Quality/ Fresh content

13
Cumulatively, the players have done well to ensure high content creation
velocity…
Content Creation Velocity – Average Number of posts per day
in Mn, Q2CY20-Q3CY21
Note: Cumulative number of posts by Indian Shortform video platforms
Tiktok was banned after Q2CY20
Improvement in filter tools leading to users
becoming creators at a higher pace
Access to studio and high-quality content
creation facilities for large influencers
Growing “mainstream-ing” of the space for
advertisers leading to higher monetization
for creators
1.
2.
3.
What drove this?
3.6
1
4-4.5
Q2CY20
TiktokEra
Q3 CY21
4.4x
Q3CY20

14
…while keeping the content clean and genuine for users
% of Copied Content1
, Industry
Also it’s Q1CY21 to Q3CY21
% of Objectionable/Inflammatory Content2
% of Irrelevant Content3
by selected Genre
Note: 1. % of Copied Content - % of videos that are not created on the platform (copied from third party sources)
2. Objectionable Content - % of content in the industry that is inflammatory (content that involves violence, nudity, racial discrimination, vulgar, etc.
3. % of Irrelevant Content Genre - % of videos that contain a different genre to the one chosen by the user
These are combined industry estimates for top 3 platforms (Josh, Moj, MX Takatak) and it excludes global platforms such as Insta Reels, YT shorts, etc.
Source(s): RedSeer benchmarks IP, RedSeer Analysis, Deep App Testing on 143000 videos across multiple devices
While the content creation velocity has been rampant, the copied content, presence of
objectionable content and the irrelevant content by Genre have also reduced significantly
15%
8%
Q1 CY21 Q3 CY21 Q1 CY21 Q3 CY21 Q1 CY21 Q3 CY21
-7pp
10%
2%
-8pp
18%
10%
- 8pp

15
…leading to higher follower base for creators
Indian creator Funnel (Based on 1,43,000 video analysis across Apps)
Source : RedSeer benchmarks IP, RedSeer Analysis, Deep App Testing on 143000 videos across multiple devices
Most important part of the
Creator Funnel is growing at
a faster pace indicating that
the follower growth is not
restricted to Top Influencers
Content
Creators
(UGC)
~40-45 Mn
Micro Inﬂuencers
(1K -10K
followers)
Mini
(10K -500K
followers)
Mega
(500K -1 Mn
followers)
Super Mega
(1 -10 Mn
followers)
Elite
(>10 Mn
followers)
Super Elite
(>15 Mn
followers)
~14 Mn
< 1K
>100%
50-80%
# inﬂuencers
Primary Cohort
Growth in
Creator
Follower base
since previous
quarter

Largest digital medium
to reach “bharat” user
base at scale- starting to
attract digital ad $s but
still under-leveraged
3.

17
Largest digital medium to reach “bharat” user base at scale
Shortform Video has the 2nd largest unique monthly users Outside “Top 50
cities”
Unique Monthly Users across different channels – Outside Top 50 cities
Users, Mn, CY21F
Notes: Indian Social Media includes homegrown apps such as Dailyhunt, ShareChat, Inshorts, etc. E-comm includes Amazon, Flipkart, etc.
60-80
100-120 110-130
140-160
150-170 160-180 170-190
220-240
530-550
Instagram Shortform
Video
Indian Social
Media
TV
Print
Youtube
Facebook
Hotstar
E-Commerce

18
Largest digital medium to reach “bharat” user base at scale
Shortform Video sector is starting to attract Ad dollars but is still under-
leveraged
Advertisement Perspective - Shortform Video Platforms Time Spent Perspective – Shortform Video Platforms
Notes: 1. 3.5 $Bn is the Digital Ad market of CY2021F
2. Shortform Video does not include IG Reels, FB Watch and YT Shorts
3. Global Social Media includes Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, etc; India Social Media includes Dailyhunt, Sharechat, Inshorts, etc.
Mismatch between Ad-Spend and Time spent
Though 7% of time is spent on Shortform Video, <1% of Ad $ is contributed by it
Currently, Shortform Video
contributes “<1% of the Digital
Ad $”
Shortform Video contributes to
“ 7% of overall time spent on
content”

Live commerce and
virtual gifting emerging
as other monetization
opportunities
4.

20
Live commerce and virtual gifting emerging as other monetization opportunities
Shortform offers one of the best opportunities to tap into Bharat
User Base v/s Tier 2+ city customers share
Overall userbase (Mn), Tier2+ share (%), CY2020
Notes:
1. Indian Social Media includes homegrown apps like ShareChat, Inshorts, Way 2News, DailyHunt, etc.
2. Global Social Media includes Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
Shortform Video Sector to lead the internet
economy into the Tier 2+ cities
500 Mn+ new customers from Tier 2+ cities
to transact online in next 10 years
1+2leads to a higher monetization
opportunity on shortform video apps
through advertisements and live commerce
1.
2.
Key Insights
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
E-Tailing
Shortform Video
eHealth
eGrocery
FoodTech
EdTech
OTT Audio
Global
Social Media
OTT Video
Indian
Social Media
Platform CY20 Userbase in Mn
Share
of
Tier
2+
users
400
300
200
100
0

21
Virtual gifting is expected to propel in the coming years
Revenue Mix over time- Douyin
CY18-21F
% of Indian respondent’s willingness to participate in Virtual Gifting
N - 890, % of respondents,JAS’21
Source(s): RedSeer benchmarks IP, RedSeer Analysis, Corporate Reports and Desk Research, Customer Surveys N - 890
Based on Global Learnings, Livestream gifting will pick up pace …and scale up in the Indian Market
8%
38%
Current Willingness to Pay Future Willingness to Pay
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
CY18 CY19 CY20 CY21F
Ads Livestream Gifts Livestream eCom
1.5X scale
Currently 8% of shortform video users have
gifted their favourite inﬂuencers, but this trend
is expected shift as ~38% of users are willing to
gift their inﬂuencers in the future

22
Video shopping in India is also expected to accelerate and grow to $4+ Bn by CY25 inline
with trends seen in China
Livestream ecommerce as % total eCommerce in China
CY17-22P. Total GMV measured in $ Bn
India Video Commerce GMV
$ Bn
Source(s): RedSeer benchmarks IP, RedSeer Analysis, Corporate Reports and Desk Research
• Video commerce is at a nascent stage in India but has immense
potential basis learning from Indonesia and China Markets
• >8% of total e-tailing in India could be driven by video
commerce by CY30
Live Commerce is being adopted for all types of companies (e.g.,
Taobao, Douyin) and categories (including consumer durables)
2%
5%
9%
12%
20%
20 68 175 275
Livestream
eCom GMV ($ Bn)
600
Traditional eCommerce
Livestream eCommerce
2292
1944
1511
~1000
~600
3000
CY 17 CY 18 CY 19 CY 20 CY 21P CY 22P
2021P 2025P 2030P
0.1
2025P
4.0
>25
+151%
+44%
2%
5%
9%
12%
20%
20 68 175 275
Livestream
eCom GMV ($ Bn)
600
Traditional eCommerce
Livestream eCommerce
2292
1944
1511
~1000
~600
3000
CY 17 CY 18 CY 19 CY 20 CY 21P CY 22P
2021P 2025P 2030P
0.1
2025P
4.0
>25
+151%
+44%

23
Of the $4Bn, Shortform live commerce to be ~$2.5-3 Bn GMV by 2025
Live commerce GMV – split by type of platform
In USD Bn, 2025
Note (s): 1
An in-depth scenario based forecast model has been built based on India shortform market landscape and learnings from China on live
commerce opportunity
2. BPC and Fashion contributed ~65% to the total GMV of shortform live commerce in both China and Indonesia
Local Sourcing Low product AOV
1.
Intimate connections with Micro/
Nano Influencers
2.
Growth of D2C brands
3.
Video Commerce assists shoppers
not well-versed with tech
4.
What will drive the growth? Early Signs visible
$80-100 Mn
Annual GMV
60 Mn MAUs
300K MTUs
Case in point : An Indian shortform video platform
converted into a social commerce entity and has
garnered some strong numbers
Total live
commerce
$4-5 Bn $~2 Bn
Via
eCommerce
platform
Via
Shortform
platform
$2.5-3 Bn

Fresh Personalized
Content + Higher
Creator Reach driving
platform NPS
5.

25
Fresh Personalized Content + Higher Creator Reach driving platform NPS
Top three Indian platforms (Moj, Josh, MX Takatak) have grown their MAUs ~2x in
the last one year
Monthly Active Users
In Million, Jul20- Sept’21
Note (s): These numbers are unique monthly active users in the segment, It is not cumulative number
1.
Other shortform apps include Roposo, Chingari, Mitron, etc. This excludes global shortvideo ventures such as Insta Reels, Youtube Shorts, etc
Since shortform video is embedded in parent app itself, MAUs will be the same as that of the parent Social Media App. Hence we have excluded the specific international social media nos
Snack Video was banned in Nov-20
129
255
46
28
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Top 3 shortform Apps ( Josh, Moj, MX Takatak)
Other Indian Shortform Apps1
2.6X
9 X
Aug-
21
Sep-
21
Jul-
20
Aug-
20
Sep-
20
Oct-
20
Nov-
20
Dec-
20
Jan-
21
Feb-
21
Mar-
21
Apr-
21
May-
21
Jun-
21
Jul-
21
Gap Widening –
The top 3 shortform
video platforms are
drifting away from
other Indian short-
form Apps due to
better personalization
and high quality
creator base

26
Josh supplies high quality original content at better UI/UX; Moj better on content
creation velocity, while MX Takatak on creator monetization opportunities
Supply and Demand Comparison – Player Performance
Note – Players arranged in descending order of their DAU, Data as of Sept’ 2021; NPS is as of Sept 2021
Source(s): RedSeer benchmarks IP, RedSeer Analysis, Deep App Testing 143000 videos across multiple devices
Laggards Leaders
App Positioning
Parameters Components
Relatively premium skew Sec B- and below,
Sec B- and below,
Velocity of Content
No of Posts created per day
Hashtag challenges – Traction
Depth of Content
Profile of Users
Quality of Content
Originality of Content
Breadth of Content
Content Compliance
Creator Experience
Creator Satisfaction
Creator Support by Platform
Creator Opportunities
Monetisation Abilities –
Brand tie-up opportunities, etc
Content
Creation
Personalization
Real Time Feed
Cold Feed
Feed by Language
Feed by Search
User Experience
User Satisfaction
Content Quality, Freshness
UI/UX
Engagement across channels
Social media engagement
App Rating
Content
Consumption

27
While every platform is similar on creator NPS, Josh has seen highest growth in user
NPS and continues to lead
NPS: User and Creator – Indian Shortform Apps
AMJ 21 vs JAS 21
Source : Creator Surveys (N = 300), Customer Surveys (N = 890), RedSeer IP, RedSeer Analysis
Creator NPS– What has worked?
Improved Tools/Filters/Features – Increase in
the options and features for content creation in-
line with the needs of the influencers
Reach of the platform – As Platforms have grown
their diverse (By age, tier, Income, etc.) userbase
organically, the reach of content creators has
improve
Collaboration opportunities – Avenues to
collaborate with brands, fans, etc. have increase
monetization potential for the creators
User NPS
What has
worked?
Freshness of Content–
Growth in the number of
quality influencers, interesting
hashtags challenges, genres
and languages has enhanced
the content freshness
Personalization
recommendation – High
investment into tech stack
has improved the level of
curated content
Content regulation/filtration–
Platforms have ramped their
filtration mechanisms to
reduce inflammatory content
25
50
75
Josh
User NPS
Creator
NPS
Moj
MxTakatak
AMJ
21
JAS
21
20 40 60 80

28
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Indian Shortform video : Ready to leapfrog towards monetization?

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