77% of upcountry consumers used WhatsApp in their purchase journey this year: Meta

Nearly 90% of consumers from India’s tier-2 and tier-3 markets are aware of quick commerce, and about 50% used it last week, reveals the ‘E-Commerce Purchase Journey Study 2024’ conducted by Meta and GWI.

The findings indicate how quick commerce services have become an integral part of small-city consumers’ daily lives. Meta carried out two surveys--one to assess the adoption of quick commerce in India and the other to examine the online shopping trends in India’s tier-2 and tier-3 towns.

The Meta GWI study on quick commerce was conducted among 2,500+ internet users between 16 and 64 years of age across India. The small-town survey, on the other hand, involved collecting responses from 2,182 internet users living in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Quick commerce insights

About 86% of survey respondents said that they discovered new quick commerce brands or products via Meta platforms with about 57% discovering them through influencers.

Meta’s quick commerce study found that creators, messaging, personalised recommendations, and discovery were making it easier for consumers to shop online, especially through quick commerce platforms. The study showed Meta platforms driving a high conversion rate with the highest click-through and purchase rates across its channels.

While grocery and personal care products had the highest association with quick commerce services, even the niche categories such as hair care, skin care, and health and wellness, have been witnessing a rising adoption, found the survey.

Influencers were found to be playing a crucial role in consumer decision-making, especially by boosting brand visibility and driving favourable perceptions. More than a third of respondents discovered new brands or products through influencers/creators and 30% purchased an influencer-recommended product.

The study showed that Gen Z led the adoption of quick commerce with 87% of Gen Z respondents saying that they had discovered new products or brands via Meta platforms. Gen Z also was found to be leading the adoption of niche categories such as sportswear, wellness, and pet supplies.

Arun Srinivas, director and head (India) for Meta’s ads business, said, “As we exit 2024, two key trends stand out in the e-commerce space. They are the rise of quick commerce and acceleration of online shopping in tier-2 and tier-3 markets."

Studies show how AI-powered personalisation and discovery, creators, and messaging are enabling the quick commerce and online shopping platforms to be more easily discoverable and accessible to consumers enabling brands to create more seamless, engaging, and impactful shopping experiences that cater to the consumers’ evolving preferences.

Small town story

Meta’s e-commerce purchase journey study found fashion, food and beauty, and mobiles to be the top categories purchased online in tier-2 and tier-3 towns. In addition, in categories such as jewellery and accessories, large electronics, and home furnishings, the online and offline purchases are at par.

Social media emerged as the top channel for shoppers to find new products or brands with about 68% of tier-2 and tier-3 city respondents stating that they discovered products via social media. Among the consumers who discovered products on social media, 59% said they found them through reels and 57% through influencers.

55% of small city consumers had used messaging platforms to purchase a product in the last 12 months. While 95% of consumers were WhatsApp users, 77% had used WhatsApp in their purchase journey.

Among influencer followers, 46% said that watching the influencer promote a product and comparing different products influenced them to make that purchase.

With shifting consumer behaviour, the tier-2 and tier-3 markets have become a fertile ground for quick commerce to proliferate these geographies in a big way in 2025, according to Meta.

Social media and especially Meta’s platforms were found to be at the forefront of the next wave of online shopping in India across quick commerce and in tier-2 and tier-3 geographies.