92 per cent of Indian social media users prefer watching reels over other video formats: Survey

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Social media is now India's go-to destination for content, cutting across age groups, genres, and interests. At the heart of this shift is short-form video, which dominates daily viewing habits nationwide.

As Reels marks five years in India, new findings from a Meta-commissioned IPSOS study reveal that Reels is the country's leading short-form video platform - outpacing TV, YouTube, and other surveyed platforms.

Surveying over 3500 people from 33 centres across India, the study highlights the dominance of Reels, driven by strong user preference, creator engagement, and cultural relevance. While 97 per cent of consumers watch short-form videos at least once a day, Reels on Meta emerges as the clear favourite, with 92 per cent choosing it as their preferred platform.

It is now the most viewed short-form video format in India, with 95 per cent of surveyed users watching it everyday, at least 12 percentage points ahead of other surveyed platforms. The study also highlights how Reels is the top video viewing platform for GenZ and NCCS A and B.

Arun Srinivas, managing director and head, Meta (India), says, "India is leading the world in video adoption, and Reels is at the center of this shift. Five years since its launch, Reels is India's leading short-form video platform - driving massive engagement, shaping culture, and delivering real business impact. We'll continue to innovate with AI, support creators, and help businesses unlock the power of short-form video."

Beyond scale, Reels has become the cultural engine of the internet in India. The study shows that culture is born on Reels, as it continues to fuel major online trends, from dance challenges, memes, and POVs to GRWM, beauty transitions, and more. It has also emerged as the go-to platform for creator engagement, driving close to 33 per cent higher engagement than other surveyed platforms. Reels drive cultural conversations, leading consumption across genres, with users watching more content on fashion/trends and styles (over 40 per cent vs other platforms), beauty and makeup (over 20 per cent vs other platforms), and music/movies (+16 per cent vs other platforms).

For businesses and brands, the impact is equally significant. Meta is now the top platform for brand discovery, with 80 per cent of Indians saying they discover new brands on Meta platforms. Reels ads also deliver 2x stronger top-of-mind recall and 4x stronger message association compared to long-form video ads, while being 1.5x more effective in driving brand metrics as compared to long-form skippable video ads. Consumers further rated brand videos on Meta as the most refreshing and enjoyable across all platforms, reaffirming its position as the most effective and engaging destination for marketers.