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.
Esta historia es de la edición October 29, 2023 de Business Today India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición October 29, 2023 de Business Today India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
The EV Craze
The country’s growing luxury car market is seeing a shift with environmentally-conscious consumers betting on electric vehicles as a sustainable travel option. Though just 6%, the share of EVs in the luxury segment is rising rapidly
The Storage Boom
Data centres are being built at a frenetic pace in india as companies scramble to meet the ballooning demand from mobile phone users and firms adopting al. Can the country’s energy infrastructure keep up?
India Beckons
Owing to rising incomes in India and overall wealth expansion, luxury brands are wooing the country like never before
The Pearls of The Sea
Caviar, that rare food, is considered the epitome of fine dining. Here is everything that you need to know about it
66.Brand persona should define the core"
I’d say this was a strategic pivot. We had an iconic brand, but had, over time, evolved into diversified lines of businesses that could no longer be represented within the confines of our ‘name’.
Unwind in Style
Here is acomprehensive list of top tech picks that help you unwind by blending perfection in performance with luxury
A Lifelong Affair with Inspiration
In my art journey, the diversity of my acquisitions mirrored the expanding horizons of my understanding of art
Make it Bubbly
Champagne is much more than just a symbol of celebration and success. Know about its nuances beyond the bubbles
Palatial Splendour
Buoyed by renewed demand, sales of the glitzy mansions of the ultra-rich are surging like never before. Real estate majors are looking to capitalise on this by launching luxury offerings in record numbers
Of Beaches and Cream
GianChand Single Malt Whisky
