Instagram user baser doubles in Indian in a year

Over 50 per cent of Indians present on Instagram, the image-sharing social networking service, have bought products and services from the brands they followed on the platform,  a recent study has revealed.

According to the study, 'Indians on Instagram',  conducted by global information and measurement company Nielsen, over 90 per cent of Indians on Instagram are under 30 years old, while the 18-24 age group is the most active.

The insights about the service's Indian users were revealed by the company at an event in New Delhi hosted by Facebook India's managing director Kirthiga Reddy and Paul Webster, Brand Development Lead, Instagram Asia Pacific.

The company further added that of the last 100 million people who had joined Instagram, over half lived in Asia and Europe.

Though the company did not disclose its user base in India, it said that its monthly actives in India had more than doubled in the past year.

The service currently, counts a global users base of over 400 million.

The company's revelations come at a time when most social media networks were considering ways to make people buy products on their platform.

In June, Instagram launched a 'shop now' button on its advertisements. Instagram's parent  Facebook is also testing 'buy' buttons with a limited audience with the help of some businesses in the US.

''Instagram has gained immense popularity and people are using it to express themselves. Our monthly actives in India have more than doubled over the past year (as of September 2015) and the momentum continues to build,'' Reddy told reporters.

''Indians on Instagram are mostly young, mobile-first users with high spending power. They follow brands to keep in touch with the latest products, learn about deals and shop for products online and over 50 per cent of Indian Instagrammers have frequently purchased products and services from the brands they follow,'' the study conducted by Nielsen said.