Meta’s Reels now drives 81% product discovery across India, study finds

Meta this week revealed findings from a collection of IPSOS-commissioned research displaying that Reels has develop into the dominant short-form video floor for content material discovery, creator engagement, and commerce throughout India – with 97% of surveyed customers watching video on Meta platforms at the very least as soon as each day, and the urban-rural hole in video engagement narrowing to only 4 share factors.

The dimensions of India’s video shift

The info, drawn from a survey of greater than 4,000 respondents throughout 23 cities together with metros, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, and rural areas, maps a consumption sample that extends nicely past India’s largest city centres. In response to Meta, each day video engagement on its platforms stands at 98% in city India and 94% in rural India – a spot slim sufficient to point near-universal adoption somewhat than an elite metropolitan behavior.

The determine on the nationwide stage is 97%. That quantity encompasses Gen Z customers (97% each day), girls (97% each day), and NCCS A audiences – India’s classification for upper-income households – at 98%. The convergence throughout these three demographic teams is notable. It means that no matter segmentation as soon as separated premium city audiences from the broader market has been considerably decreased, at the very least by way of platform attain.

Meta doesn’t report absolute person numbers on this examine. The chances come from the survey pattern, which was structured to incorporate respondents throughout city, semi-urban, and rural geographies. The analysis was commissioned by Meta and performed by IPSOS, an impartial market analysis agency that has run comparable research for Meta throughout monetary companies verticals in India previously documented on PPC Land.

Reels engagement by demographic group

Inside the broader video image, Reels occupies a particular function. The examine positions it as the first short-form floor for a number of key teams. Amongst Gen Z, 89% report utilizing Reels each day. Amongst girls, that determine is 85%. Amongst NCCS A audiences, it’s 88%.

These numbers matter for advertisers as a result of they correspond to segments with totally different buy behaviours and class affinities. Gen Z engagement is concentrated in content material discovery, trend-following, and creator-led storytelling. Ladies’s engagement intersects closely with magnificence, style, and life-style classes. NCCS A audiences signify the very best spending tier throughout classes together with automotive and monetary companies.

The examine notes that 84% of Gen Z customers uncover new merchandise and types by means of Meta’s platforms, based on Meta. That could be a excessive determine, and it frames Reels as an upper-funnel entry level for a era that has restricted publicity to legacy media codecs. Concurrently, 73% of rural customers uncover new merchandise and types by means of Meta’s platforms – a determine that signifies the platform’s attain into markets that conventional promoting infrastructure has traditionally struggled to serve effectively.

“India’s video growth is not urban-led anymore – it is nationwide, chopping throughout GenZ, girls and premium audiences. Creators, tradition and commerce are converging on Reels in methods we’ve not seen earlier than. For manufacturers, this is not only a content material play – it is a all the time on Content material-to-Commerce play. Reels are the place discovery begins, belief is constructed, and buy selections are made,” stated Saugato Bhowmik, Director, CPG & D2C, Automotive (India) at Meta.

Content material classes driving engagement

The examine identifies the highest content material classes by engagement charge on Reels in India. Magnificence and make-up lead at 52%, tied with style and traits additionally at 52%. Life-style and health follows at 42%, with comedy and humour at 39%, sports activities at 38%, and journey at 37%.

These classes share a standard structural function: they lend themselves to quick, visually demonstrative clips that work with out sustained consideration. A magnificence tutorial, a style haul, a health routine, a comedy sketch – every of those codecs achieves its communicative objective inside 30 to 90 seconds. That alignment between content material sort and platform format just isn’t coincidental. It displays each creator adaptation and viewers choice.

The creator ecosystem amplifies this dynamic. In response to Meta, Reels delivers roughly 60% larger creator engagement than different short-form video platforms surveyed. The examine doesn’t identify these competing platforms, however the Indian short-form panorama contains YouTube Shorts, which launched in India in September 2020 following the ban on TikTok, in addition to home options like Moj. The aggressive context issues: India’s short-form video market developed underneath uncommon circumstances, with TikTok’s 2020 exit creating a gap that worldwide and home platforms have contested for six years.

The 2024 Instagram report on Gen Z in India, revealed in December 2023, had already flagged that Indian Gen Z had been extra career-oriented and extra taken with neighborhood and self-expression than their international friends – a cultural tendency that creator-led Reels content material seems to be capturing successfully.

From discovery to buy: the full-funnel information

Essentially the most commercially significant slice of the examine considerations Reels’ function throughout the patron buy journey. In response to Meta, Reels influences 81% of product discovery, 66% of consideration, and 47% of buy selections amongst surveyed customers. Every of these phases corresponds to a definite part of the advertising funnel, and the reported figures counsel Reels is current all through somewhat than concentrated at any single level.

The 81% product discovery determine is the most important and probably the most steadily cited. Discovery is the stage at which customers first encounter a product or model, usually with out prior intent. The truth that Reels seems at this stage in 4 out of 5 circumstances – based on the examine – positions it as a main consciousness automobile. The 47% buy affect determine is smaller however arguably extra invaluable to advertisers operating efficiency campaigns, as a result of it’s nearer to the transaction.

Meta previously reported 3.5 billion daily Reels shares globally, with model raise research displaying 14% larger common model raise and 24% larger median model raise for campaigns utilizing Reels adverts in comparison with normal campaigns. The India-specific information from this IPSOS examine provides a geographic layer to that international image, displaying how the format capabilities throughout a market with its personal distinct socioeconomic and demographic contours.

A separate Meta and Toluna examine, published in May 2026, discovered that particular artistic variables – together with early model publicity, dynamic branding, and emoji utilization – considerably amplify buy intent on Instagram Reels throughout model and direct response goals. That examine examined 100 adverts in opposition to 65 coded variables and located model presence capped at 25% of period raises direct response buy intent probability 4.8 instances. Taken collectively, the 2 research counsel that whereas Reels generates substantial attain and discovery, the artistic execution inside that format meaningfully impacts business outcomes.

Vertical deep-dives: monetary companies, automotive, and e-commerce

The IPSOS examine breaks out efficiency by class in methods which are helpful for vertical-specific planning. In monetary companies, the findings are significantly hanging given typical assumptions about digital channels and complicated merchandise.

In response to Meta, 76% of rural monetary companies customers have interaction with Meta’s platforms each day. It is a inhabitants that has traditionally been served by branch-based relationship banking, insurance coverage brokers, and word-of-mouth referral. The implication of a 76% each day engagement determine is that short-form video is now a main channel by means of which rural Indians encounter monetary merchandise – whether or not organically by means of creator content material or by means of paid promoting.

Amongst girls who personal monetary merchandise, 54% have interaction with creators on Meta’s platforms each day. That is described within the examine as one of many highest engagement charges throughout all viewers cohorts examined. For monetary companies advertisers, this cohort is commercially vital as a result of girls’s monetary product possession in India has been a progress space and a regulatory precedence, significantly in insurance coverage and financial savings.

Meta mandated SEBI verification for securities and investment advertising targeting Indian users from July 2025, a coverage change that added compliance necessities for monetary companies advertisers but additionally formalized the legitimacy of the channel for institutional advertisers. The verification requirement applies globally to campaigns reaching Indian customers.

Automotive presents a special full-funnel sample. In response to Meta, the platform leads throughout all the automotive buy journey: discovery at 82%, consideration at 68%, and buy at 50%. These should not small percentages for a high-consideration buy class the place customers have historically researched by means of dealerships, print promoting, and check drives. The 50% buy affect determine means that a good portion of automobile patrons in India report Meta platforms as a contributing issue on the level of resolution.

This discovering sits alongside a broader shift in how Meta manages automotive promoting infrastructure. In March 2026, Meta announced it would end Nielsen DMA targeting in its automotive model ads product, changing it with Comscore Markets because the geographic focusing on normal. That technical change, affecting marketing campaign supply from June 22, 2026, displays ongoing funding in automotive promoting as a precedence vertical.

E-commerce rounds out the high-intent classes. The examine positions Reels as a driver of full-path-to-purchase behaviour for on-line procuring, although the precise share figures for this class should not damaged out within the revealed information in the identical approach as automotive and monetary companies.

What the examine methodology covers – and what it doesn’t

The survey sampled 4,000 or extra respondents throughout 23 cities. The geographic scope – metros, Tier 2 and three cities, and rural areas – is broader than many platform-commissioned research, which have a tendency to focus on city centres the place digital adoption is highest and pattern recruitment is simpler.

The IPSOS methodology makes use of self-reported survey information. Which means the engagement and discovery figures replicate what respondents say they do and expertise, somewhat than straight measured platform behaviour. Platform-measured engagement information and survey-reported information can diverge in vital methods. Respondents might overreport engagement with aspirational platforms or underreport engagement with platforms they use habitually however with out aware consciousness. Meta doesn’t publish the survey instrument or the total IPSOS methodology in its public-facing supplies.

The examine additionally doesn’t evaluate platforms by identify within the aggressive figures it cites. The declare that Reels delivers 60% larger creator engagement than “different short-form video platforms surveyed” leaves the comparator set unspecified. The 47% buy affect declare is equally expressed as relative to different surveyed platforms and TV – however with out naming them or specifying the survey query design.

These methodological notes don’t essentially invalidate the findings, however they’re related for anybody utilizing the information to make media planning selections. The figures are directionally helpful; their precision needs to be handled with applicable scepticism, significantly when evaluating them to first-party information from different platforms.

For advertisers focusing on Indian customers, the examine affords a geographic argument as a lot as a platform argument. The near-equivalence of city and rural each day engagement charges – 98% versus 94% – implies that campaigns optimised for metro audiences are actually reaching rural customers at near the identical frequency. That has implications for artistic technique, language decisions, and the product classes being promoted.

Meta’s Q1 2026 earnings, reported in April 2026, confirmed that rating enhancements on Instagram drove a ten% raise in Reels time spent, and that same-day posts now signify greater than 30% of advisable Reels on each Instagram and Fb – greater than double the extent from a 12 months prior. The India examine contextualises these platform-level enhancements inside a market the place short-form video consumption has reached what Meta describes as a saturation stage.

The creator engagement dimension is important for model planning. A 60% larger creator engagement charge relative to competing platforms, if correct, implies that influencer campaigns on Reels have a structural distribution benefit. Mixed with the invention and buy affect information, this creates a case for creator-led content material as a full-funnel automobile somewhat than a purely upper-funnel consciousness software.

The monetary companies and automotive information are significantly notable as a result of these are classes the place digital promoting has traditionally struggled to point out direct buy affect. A 47% buy affect determine for monetary companies and a 50% determine for automotive counsel that the function of social video in complicated, high-consideration purchases is now measurable in India at a scale that’s arduous to dismiss.

PPC Land has lined Meta’s India promoting technique extensively, together with the earlier IPSOS financial services study from August 2025, the SEBI verification requirements introduced for securities advertising, and the ad spend disclosure rules announced for 2027. The Reels video examine launched right now provides a shopper behaviour layer to that regulatory and infrastructure image, describing how Indian audiences are literally utilizing the platform somewhat than how Meta is governing entry to it.

Timeline

• December 2020 – India bans TikTok and 58 different Chinese language apps, opening the short-form video market to home and worldwide options
• December 2023 – Instagram publishes Gen Z India tradition report, surveying 5,000+ respondents throughout 5 nations; Indian Gen Z flagged as extra career-oriented and community-driven than international friends – PPC Land coverage
• January 21, 2025 – Meta expands Instagram Reels most video size to 3 minutes for US creators and introduces money creator incentives – PPC Land coverage
• June 26, 2025 – Meta begins rollout of SEBI verification necessities for securities and funding promoting focusing on Indian customers
• July 31, 2025 – Meta mandates SEBI verification enforcement for India securities adverts – PPC Land coverage
• July 30, 2025 – Meta stories 22% promoting income progress, reaching $46.6 billion – PPC Land coverage
• August 7, 2025 – Meta releases “From Feeds to Monetary Futures” IPSOS examine on monetary companies in India
• August 14, 2025 – PPC Land publishes evaluation of Meta-IPSOS monetary product examine, documenting 57% Instagram reliance for monetary selections – PPC Land coverage
• January 15, 2026 – Meta shifts Fb Reels advice mannequin past engagement metrics to include person survey indicators – PPC Land coverage
• March 13, 2026 – Meta pronounces finish of Nielsen DMA focusing on in automotive mannequin adverts, mandating migration to Comscore Markets by June 22, 2026 – PPC Land coverage
• April 29, 2026 – Meta stories Q1 2026 income of $56.31 billion, a 33% year-over-year improve; Instagram Reels time spent up 10% from rating enhancements – PPC Land coverage
• Could 3, 2026 – Meta pronounces obligatory advert spend disclosure guidelines for advertisers beginning February 2027 – PPC Land coverage
• Could 18, 2026 – Meta and Toluna publish artistic effectiveness examine of 100 Reels adverts, discovering emojis elevate direct response buy intent 2.5 instances – PPC Land coverage
• June 3, 2026 – Meta publishes IPSOS India video examine masking 4,000+ respondents throughout 23 cities, documenting 97% each day video engagement and 81% Reels product discovery charge

Abstract

Who: Meta, with analysis performed by IPSOS throughout a pattern of greater than 4,000 respondents in India spanning metropolitan, Tier 2/3, and rural geographies. The findings are addressed to manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and advertisers working within the Indian market throughout classes together with fast-moving shopper items, monetary companies, automotive, and e-commerce.

What: A collection of research displaying that 97% of surveyed Indian customers watch video on Meta’s platforms each day, that Reels achieves 89% each day engagement amongst Gen Z and 85% amongst girls, and that the format influences 81% of product discovery, 66% of consideration, and 47% of buy selections amongst surveyed customers. The examine additionally stories that Reels delivers roughly 60% larger creator engagement than different surveyed short-form platforms, and that rural each day video engagement stands at 94% in comparison with 98% in city India.

When: The examine was revealed by Meta on June 3, 2026, drawing on IPSOS analysis performed throughout a number of phases. A separate IPSOS monetary companies examine was revealed in August 2025 and lined distinct analysis performed throughout 2025 specializing in 25-45 12 months previous customers in 4 main Indian cities.

The place: India, masking 23 cities together with metros, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, and rural areas. The examine displays circumstances particular to the Indian digital market, together with the post-TikTok-ban aggressive setting and the mobile-first web infrastructure that characterises adoption outdoors main city centres.

Why: The publication of this analysis follows a sustained sample of Meta documenting its platform’s function within the Indian market, significantly because the nation’s digital promoting ecosystem matures and advertisers search proof for platform funding throughout high-consideration verticals. For the advertising neighborhood, the importance lies within the geographic scope – the near-parity between city and rural engagement charges signifies that India-wide campaigns not require separate rural media plans – and within the vertical-specific buy affect information, which gives category-level justification for Reels as a efficiency channel somewhat than a purely brand-building one.