Now Snapdeal to offer entertainment options through tie-up with Hungama Play

It joins other e-commerce brands who've diversified and now offer entertainment options to combat the drop in online shopping due to the lockdown.

Snapdeal, a leading Indian e-commerce player has announced that it has tied up with Hungama Play, a video-on-demand platform owned by Hungama Digital Media, to offer video streaming service to users on its mobile application.

This association was aimed at Snapdeal users who can easily order essential items on the app and entertain themselves using the same app from the safety of their homes.

Hungama Play has curated a special playlist for Snapdeal that will give them easy access to "...over 41,500 short-format videos across categories like comedy, film gossip, spiritual, fashion, lifestyle etc. and 150+ short films. Besides short format content, viewers can also explore a library of long-format videos consisting of more than 400 films, various TV shows and Hungama Originals."

Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media said, “The world is going through a major crisis and people are advised to stay at home for safety. As a mobile-first economy, smartphones have proved to be indispensable in India, helping people access news, essential services and streaming platforms. Our association with Snapdeal enables us to offer users wholesome entertainment led by an incredible library of short-format videos, movies, TV shows and Hungama Originals. We are certain that the content experience offered by Hungama Play on Snapdeal will help the users remain engaged.”

Siddhartha Roy is right about India being a mobile-first economy. According to Statista, a leading provider of market and consumer data, the number of mobile internet users in India stands at 448.20 million in 2020. It is projected to grow to 500.90 million by 2023.

Due to the lockdown and restrictions on e-commerce deliveries (only essential goods are permitted), online shopping has taken a hit. Hence, it is paramount for e-commerce players to not just attract users to their apps but keep them on it too.

Flipkart recently launched a TV and digital campaign for a stay-at-home reality show adding to its existing collection of originals, TV shows, movies, and games on its mobile app. It believes it's on them to develop solutions that will bring the next 200 million shoppers online and become a daily destination for them.

Even Harish Narayanan, CMO at Myntra-Jabong told us, "Engagement is always important. The point is we want our users to come to the app, even when they’re not shopping for a product."

Thus, it seems 'engagement' is what e-commerce apps are looking at as they diversify their offerings to balance the dip in online shopping. Also, these entertainment options are often free to watch, unlike most OTT platforms which have parked their content behind paywalls.