India online payments, games, OTTs make 100% growth in 2020

NEW DELHI: Digital platforms such as online payments, indoor entertainment and gaming witnessed a massive growth of 100% in India in 2020, when the country shut, limiting the personal interaction after the COVID outbreak.

As theatres and offline entertainment avenues remained shut, consumers hardly had any option left but to switch to indoor entertainments like the OTT, and gaming segments, according to a report by online payments solution provider PayU.

An incredible increase of 144 per cent was recorded in the number of transactions and a 139 per cent increase was seen in expenditure between 2019 and 2020, the report said.

"PayU is committed to partnering with merchants to facilitate the adoption of digital infrastructure," said Hemang Dattani, Head- Data Intelligence, PayU.

During the festive season (October-December 2020), there was a 45 per cent spike in the number of online transactions vis-a-vis the same period in the previous year.

The number of UPI transactions grew by 288 per cent and expenditure through UPI grew a phenomenal 331 per cent between 2019 and 2020.

The gaming segment also saw a phenomenal 100 per cent increase in expenditure and a 154 per cent increase in average ticket size between the two years.

"For gaming and entertainment, the number of transactions made at night increased by 34 per cent while the number of transactions made during the day decreased by 11 per cent in 2020 vs. 2019, an indication of the increased dependence on indoor entertainment while working from home," the findings showed.

Travel and hospitality were some of the most badly impacted sectors with an 86 per cent drop in the number of transactions and expenditure between pre and post-COVID quarters (January-March vs April-June 2020).

Compared to 2019, there was a 46 per cent drop in the number of transactions and a 52 per cent in drop-in expenditure in 2020.

(With agency inputs)