One in ten in India is a hyperconnected consumer: GfK

One in ten of the country's internet using population is a hyperconnected consumer, according to a recent study.

A hyperconnected consumer is someone who owns a smartphone, at least one other connected device, accesses the internet daily, and spends over four hours daily on the smartphone.

There are around 41 million hyperconnected consumers in the country, with major cities like Delhi and Mumbai reporting the highest concentration of consumers belonging in this segment.

According to the Hyperconnected Consumer study in India, they spend almost six hours daily online - double the amount of time compared to the average consumer.

Prime time for them is 9pm to 12 midnight; the hyperconnected consumers have the most intense usage on their smartphone, the report noted.
 

"This evolution of the 'hyper' segment takes consumers' connectivity level up by a notch, proving that digitisation is indeed taking place at a rapid pace, with smartphones being instrumental in the process," said Nikhil Mathur, managing director for South Asia at GfK.

Hyperconnected consumers spend more than half (61 per cent) of their total time using smartphone for communication and social networking.

WhatsApp and Facebook together account for 54 per cent of the time spent on the smartphones.

Compared to the average consumer, hyperconnected consumers access Instagram thrice as much, use taxi apps more often (1.3 times), and downloaded 6 more apps to total 16 new apps in the last month, the data revealed.

"With the number of internet users in India expected to cross 450 million by June, the usage of smartphone for high social activity goes beyond simple networking and has evolved into a perpetually connected, digital-led lifestyle," said Karthik Venkatakrishnan, Regional Director for Digital Market Intelligence, GfK.

The frequency of engaging with brands online is also higher for this group of consumers.

It is imperative for companies to have an in-depth understanding of how to deal with today's hyperconnected consumer and make the best use of it, the report noted.