Meta’s Reels Becomes India’s Leading Short-Form Video Platform

New Delhi: Five years after its launch in India, US tech giant Meta’s Reels has emerged as the country’s most popular short-form video platform, with 92 percent of users preferring it over competitors, according to a report released on Thursday.

The Meta-commissioned study surveyed more than 3,500 respondents across 33 cities. It found that 95 percent of users watch Reels daily on Instagram—at least 12 percentage points higher than other platforms such as YouTube.

The report highlighted that Instagram Reels generates 33 percent more engagement than rival platforms. Reels has also become a key driver of online trends, from dance challenges and memes to POV storytelling, GRWM clips, and beauty transformations.

“Reels drive cultural conversations and dominate consumption across genres,” the report noted. Viewership is particularly strong in categories such as fashion and trends (40 percent higher than competitors), beauty and makeup (20 percent higher), and music and movies (16 percent higher).

Commenting on the findings, Arun Srinivas, Managing Director and Head of Meta (India), said: “India is leading the world in video adoption, and Reels is at the center of this shift. Meta will continue to innovate with AI, support creators, and help businesses unlock the power of short-form video.”

The study also underscored Meta’s growing role in digital commerce. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they discover new brands on Meta platforms.

Reels ads, the report added, deliver twice the top-of-mind recall and four times stronger message association compared to long-form video ads. They are also 1.5 times more effective at driving brand metrics than skippable long-form ads.

“To fully harness Reels’ potential, marketers must create social-first, Reels-specific content that captures, deepens, and scales user attention,” the company said.

With inputs from IANS