NIKILA SRINIVASAN’S ELDERLY mother in Chennai uses WhatsApp to talk to her milkman. Like millions of other Indians, the messaging service is her link to various users and services, and her US-based daughter. “WhatsApp is a place where people are having their everyday conversations,” says Srinivasan, Global VP of Business Messaging at Meta. One of her responsibilities is to look for ways to monetise WhatsApp.
And that is a question that has bugged the messaging service for long. In 2014, when Facebook (now Meta) Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled his plans to acquire WhatsApp for $19.6 billion, many called the deal overvalued. But ace investor Warren Buffett spoke favourably. “I don’t understand technology, but I understand people. If Mark Zuckerberg believes in WhatsApp, that’s good enough for me,” the Oracle of Omaha had said.
But while Instagram—bought in 2012 for $1 billion—posted an estimated $51.4 billion in revenues in 2022 (per a Social App Report), WhatsApp brought in nearly $13 billion in 2022 (per AppMagic). The big difference between them lies in their monetisation models—which for Instagram, is mostly ad-based. Experts say that an encrypted messaging platform like WhatsApp isn’t favourable to ads.
It’s not as if WhatsApp has not tried; from charging users $1 per year, to launching WhatsApp Pay for which businesses would have to pay a flat fee of 3.99 per cent on every transaction, it has done it all, but to no avail. India, Meta’s happy hunting ground for pilot projects, too has disappointed WhatsApp in terms of monetisation, so far.
This story is from the October 29, 2023 edition of Business Today India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 29, 2023 edition of Business Today India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR AMAZON INDIA
THE E-COMMERCE GIANT HAS SEEN STEADY GROWTH SINCE ITS ENTRY INTO INDIA IN 2013, BUT THE OFFLINE PIECE REMAINS A CHALLENGE. AFTER LOSING OUT ON THE FUTURE RETAIL ACQUISITION, HOW DOES IT PLAN TO KEEP THE GROWTH ENGINES REVVING?
Time To Unshackle?
Young India Is Obsessed With Apps. But The Gateway To Them Is Closely Guarded By Two Tech Behemoths-google And Apple-who Control 99% Of The Market In India. Is It Time For India To Break Free From This Duopoly And Have Its Own App Store?
"Understand what drives key talent"
Novartis India is a part of the Basel, Switzerland-headquartered pharma major Novartis AG
MILLENNIALS MISSING HOME
SKY-HIGH PROPERTY PRICES, COUPLED WITH SLOW INCOME GROWTH, HAVE MADE THE DREAM OF OWNING A HOME A DISTANT ONE FOR MANY MILLENNIALS. THIS COULD LEAD TO STAGNATION IN SOCIAL MOBILITY AND POTENTIALLY DEEPEN EXISTING SOCIAL INEQUALITIES
SIGNATURE MOVE
SIGNATURE GLOBAL, A LEADER IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING, IS LOOKING TO GET BACK IN THE BLACK WITH A SHIFT IN FOCUS TO MID-SEGMENT AND PREMIUM HOUSING AFTER LOW-COST PROJECTS BECAME UNVIABLE FOR DEVELOPERS
MAKING A MARK
PHARMA MAJOR GLENMARK IS STRATEGICALLY PLOTTING ITS WAY UP, ALL BY SHIFTING ITS FOCUS TO BRANDED AND SPECIALITY MEDICINE AND ENSURING IT GETS ITS R&D RIGHT
DIGITAL DICHOTOMY
Where does one draw the line between protecting consumer interests and maintaining market freedom? Industry and experts are debating this even as the Digital Competition Bill seeks to rein in Big Tech firms in India, the world's second-largest internet market
"ChatGPT helped people understand the benefits of using AI"
Humane Inc. Co-founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno on AI, their product, the company's vision, and more
ON THE FAST TRACK
THE DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDORS (DFC) NETWORK OF THE INDIAN RAILWAYS HAS STARTED ATTRACTING MORE FREIGHT PLAYERS. FROM CONNECTING MAJOR PORTS TO CRISS-CROSSING MULTIMODAL LOGISTICS PARKS, DFCS ARE SET TO BE A GAME CHANGER FOR FREIGHT SERVICES IN INDIA
WE HAVE A MODEL MADE IN INDIA, FOR INDIA, AND BY INDIA"
Manish Tiwary, Country Manager of Amazon India, on the opportunities in the country, digital, and more