MAM
Adjust and data.ai unveil latest Diwali app trends for marketing 2023
Mumbai: Leading measurement and analytics company Adjust and leading mobile intelligence platform data.ai, have unveiled Diwali Decoded: India Festive Report 2023, delving into the trends of mobile apps during the Diwali season in India. The report showcases the exponential increases in app installs and session lengths across all verticals that have been analyzed as compared to the previous year. For example, Hotstar, India’s top entertainment apps during the festive season, Oct-Nov 2022. Entertainment app installs and sessions during Diwali were 25 per cent and 13 per cent higher than the year’s average, respectively. Additionally, installs and sessions for this vertical saw impressive growth during the first two days of Diwali, increasing by 24 per cent and 22 per cent on Dhanteras (Oct 22) and 38 per cent and 15 per cent on Choti Diwali (Oct 23), compared to the 2022 average, respectively. Most entertainment app installs and sessions occurred four weeks before Diwali, in which weekdays accounted for 35 per cent of total installs and 34 per cent of total sessions.
Recent data reveals that mobile apps have become the preferred choice for Indian consumers, with 46 per cent utilizing them for learning, 79 per cent for exploration, and a substantial 78 per cent for making purchases, particularly during this festive period.
“Analyzing app users’ behavior during Diwali, we’ve seen fascinating app usage trends, across various verticals, that mobile marketers can utilize to inform their upcoming holiday campaign strategies. The Indian mobile app market is on an upward trajectory, and we recommend marketers localize and personalize their messaging to best reach their target audiences during this festive time,” said Adjust regional VP for Southeast Asia, South Asia and ANZ April Tayson.
India’s rise as a powerhouse in the global mobile app arena is extremely impressive. With a flourishing smartphone user base and booming internet connectivity, the nation generated a staggering US$1.6 billion in revenue in 2022.
“Demand for mobile apps and games is on the rise in India. In 2022 alone, we saw nearly 29 billion downloads, up 8 per cent year over year. Holiday periods like Diwali can represent powerful times to reach and engage consumers on the device they always have with them: their phones. But it’s a highly competitive time, and brands need to know the lay of the land in order to benchmark and plan effectively for the Diwali 2023 holiday period,” said data.ai corporate marketing director Lexi Sydow.
The report is based on an in-depth analysis of Adjust’s top 2,500+ apps and the total dataset of all apps tracked by Adjust, with a focus on verticals such as shopping, fintech, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, and food & drink from September 2022 to November 2022. The analysis is based on data.ai’s proprietary App IQ and Game IQ taxonomy – the world’s most comprehensive digital taxonomy for mobile apps with over 250,000 apps classified across 316 subgenres – across the e-commerce, gaming, fintech, social, travel, health & fitness, food and drink, entertainment, OTT, and photo and video editing categories.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
