WhatsApp, Flipkart, Vodafone tops Nielsen India Consumer Ranking

Mobile messenger ‘WhatsApp' emerges as the most engaging mobile app; while the site ‘Flipkart' is the top e-tailing website for urban Indian consumers. In the telecom sector, Nokia is the preferred brand of mobile handsets, while Vodafone ranks as the top mobile operator. These are the findings of the first round of Consumer Rankings for India launched recently, by Nielsen, a global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy.

Nielsen India Consumer Rankings are based on popularity and consumer experience for six lifestyle categories including Smartphone Apps, E-Tailing sites, Mobile Handsets, Mobile Operators, Books and International Travel preferences of urban Indian consumers. These findings will be released at an All India level for all 6 categories and select city rankings will be released for 4 categories (E-tailing, International Travel, Mobile Handsets and Mobile Operators) across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune. The rankings are arrived at using Nielsen proprietary tools, current panels, and in-depth surveys and studies where relevant across the country and are unique to each category.

"While we have always provided uncommon consumer insights for our clients, with this initiative we are taking insights from cities across the country, and giving back to consumers. These rankings reflect the pulse of urban Indian consumers, and will provide a different lens to view the lifestyle choices that urban consumers are making every day," said Piyush Mathur, president, Nielsen India.

Smartphone Apps:
Nearly half (47%) of the respondents engage with smartphone messenger service WhatsApp and spend 24 minutes a day chatting making it the top smartphone app for urban Indian consumers. While social networking website Facebook (2nd), reaches out to over half the respondents (51%), engagement time on the smartphone app is 10 minutes a day.

E-Tailing:
Flipkart (1st), eBay (2nd) and Homeshop18 (3rd) are the top three E-tailing sites as indicated by over 1000 active internet users and online shoppers as per data collected in Q4 2012. Cellphones and accessories (52%), books (50%) and clothing (49%) are the most popular categories to be purchased online.

Mobile Handsets:
According to the study conducted across 8 cities in India across 6000 consumers, in October 2012, nearly half (49%) the respondents use a feature phone, three in ten (30%) consumers use a multimedia phone, while one fifth (20%) currently use smartphone devices. Based on current ownership and consumer satisfaction 88% respondents indicated they were most satisfied with the brand Nokia (1st), followed by Samsung (2nd) and Blackberry (3rd).

Mobile Operators:
Vodafone is the top ranking mobile operator, followed by Airtel (2nd), and Idea (3rd).

Books:
Indian authors dominate the fiction rankings with Amish Tripathi's "The Immortals of Meluha" and the sequel "The Secret of the Nagas" appearing in the top ten, as per data from point of sale, of over 400 retailers across the country.

International Travel:
Singapore ranks as the most visited destination for both business and leisure travelers in the last 12 months. For business travelers, USA is the second most visited destination, and for leisure Nepal takes second position. In the coming 12 months, Malaysia tops the list for planned travel across both business and leisure categories, followed by Singapore.