97% of Indians Watch Reels Daily, Says Meta Study

Nearly 60% of the Internet users in India now consume short-form video on Meta platforms every day, a study commissioned by Meta and conducted by market research firm IPSOS revealed. The findings were drawn from responses of over 4,000 people across 23 metro cities and rural areas.

Beauty and makeup, fashion and trends were the most engaged content categories on reels, each accounted for 52% engagement, as surveyed among users. Lifestyle and fitness followed at 42%, comedy at 39%, sports at 38% and travel at 37%.

Overall, 97% of surveyed internet users said they watch videos on Meta platforms daily. While the engagement percentage remains nearly similar across urban and rural areas, with 98% and 94%, respectively. The data reveal that short-form content consumption is no longer an urban phenomenon.

Reels Are Primary Drivers of Consumer Choices

The study also found that reels play a significant role in shaping buying decisions. According to the data, the platform drives 81% of initial product discovery, influences 66% of brand consideration, and impacts 47% of final purchase decisions.

Gen Z users, accounting for 84%, said they discover new products and brands through the platform, while 73% rural users reported the same.

In the automotive sector, Meta reported that its platforms account for 82% of discovery and influence 50% of final car-buying decisions.

What Meta Says

Director of CPG, D2C and Automotive at Meta India, Saugato Bhomik, said India's video content growth is cutting across Gen Z, women, and premium audiences. “For brands, this isn't just a content play, it's an always-on Content-to-Commerce play", he said.

He noted that while younger digital-first native brands have adapted faster, building a creator-first, mobile-first ecosystem from the start, traditional businesses are still trying to navigate how to meaningfully integrate short-form visual content into their marketing mix.

"Reels are not optional anymore. It's the core mainstay of your media plan," he added.

Bhowmik also highlighted that content repetition, particularly by beauty and fashion creators, is causing monotony, credibility loss, and creator cost Inflation. Instead, he argued, brands need to build across macro, micro, vernacular and regional creators.

Meta also claimed that Reels deliver nearly 60% higher creator engagement than other surveyed short-form video platforms, without naming any platforms it used for comparison.