Short video apps, which achieved significant popularity in India in recent years, seem to have lost steam. As per the latest Data.ai report, the average monthly active users (MAU) in this category saw a 40 per cent drop in 2023, compared to its peak in 2021.

The average MAU of short videos stood at over 245 million in 2023, as against 366 million a year ago and 402 million in 2021, according to the “State of Mobile 2024” report (see graph).

While app-wise data is not available, industry experts believe homegrown players might have been affected more compared to global giants like Instagram (Meta) and YouTube Shorts (Google). Analysts also point out how a few Indian apps have been shut down with their valuation dropping drastically in the past two years.

Globally, however, short videos have continued to charm users with the average monthly active users soaring from 2.9 billion to 3.4 billion in the last two years.

Notably, short videos achieved significant popularity in India because of the emergence of global and homegrown players, following the Indian government’s ban on Tik Tok, the Chinese app, in the middle of 2020.

The report also points out that social media networks, especially microblogging apps like X, have witnessed muted growth in India between 2022 and 2023.

Despite the return to normalcy following the pandemic, video remained the highest-earning segment in 2022, with an 11 per cent increase in revenue share since 2019. In 2022, Indians spent 52 per cent (nearly 25 billion hours) more time streaming entertainment material than they did in 2019, an EY report has revealed.

As social media, especially short videos, attracted more eyeballs, brands also allocated more ad dollars towards this space. Large advertisers like FMCG firms allocated over 30-50 per cent of their digital ad spends to short videos and 25 per cent to social media apps.

Why?

Most industry experts e4m spoke with expressed surprise over the report's findings. After all, in recent years it was perceived that with the decline of the average user’s attention span, short-form content would dominate the social media landscape, capturing users’ attention with its quick and engaging format.

Short-form content is concise and to the point. With less than 90 seconds in length, it is intended to be "snackable”. Fuelled by its addictive algorithm, intuitive interface, and diverse creative content, short videos had evolved into a cultural sensation.

Consumers’ stickiness to social media, burgeoning creator economy and advertisers’ increasing dependence on influencer marketing helped short videos to expand reach across the length and breadth of the country. As per a RedSeer report, approximately 70% of short video users hail from tier-2 cities, semi-urban and rural areas.

However, gradually like every other social media platform, short videos have also reached the “fatigue” level. Observers call it the “stabilization” of a mature mobile market like India.

Sachin Kumar, founder, Bottle Openers, shares that short videos are losing steam because of poor engagement levels. “Unless you are a top celebrity like Shah Rukh Khan or a very smart influencer who can create compelling content, your short videos won’t be able to engage consumers anymore. Consumers now prefer long-form videos as they increasingly seek complete information about products, services or people.”

Sharing a different perspective, another senior ad executive contested: “It appears that the report is based on Indian users' primary consumption channel, which is Facebook. In that case, it's true. Otherwise, I don't see any sign of short-form video MAUs declining across YouTube and Instagram.”

He noted that Google is building ad products that promote use of multiple ad formats on YouTube for advertisers to take advantage of CPMs.

Striking a positive note, Syed Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, Global CEO and Co-founder of Gozoop group, said: “Short-format content is here to stay. There is an increasing appetite for it. The young Bharat consumes micro-content the most and in the online consumption ecosystem, they will continue to be the drivers.”