Hyperconnected consumers spend almost six hours daily online: GFK

According to the recent study by GFK, there are around 41 million hyper-connected consumers in India, with major cities like Delhi and Mumbai reporting the highest concentration of consumers belonging to this segment.

The study says that hyperconnected consumers spend almost six hours daily online-double the amount of time compared to the average consumer and Prime time for them are 9 pm to 12 midnight:

Hyperconnected consumers are defined as someone who owns a smartphone, at least one other connected device, accesses the internet daily with and spends more than four hours daily on the smartphone.

GFK says that hyperconnected consumers spend more than half (61 percent) of their total time using the smartphone for communication and social networking. WhatsApp and Facebook together account for 54 percent of the time spent on the smartphones. Compared to the average consumer, hyper-connected 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.

"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.

"These valuable insights can help brands targeting the Indian market to rethink their strategy, such that they can seamlessly integrate their offline and online offerings in the consumer purchase journey in order to be ready for them when and where they are wanted the most," commented Mathur. "Digital India will continue to spur the growth of hyperconnectivity with the plethora of opportunities it brings to the table. It is even more imperative for companies to have an in-depth understanding of how to deal with today's hyper-connected consumer and make the best use of it," he further said.

The study further pointed out that, the frequency of engaging with brands online is also higher for this group of consumers. Four in five (80 percent) like or follow a brand on Facebook while two-third (65 percent) forward brand content to others, showcasing that they have some level of engagement with at least one brand on social media.