iWorld
Amazon Prime Video launches Hindi UI
MUMBAI: Amazon Prime Video has taken localisation to a higher level by adding support for a Hindi user interface, including search, navigation and customer support in Hindi on the Prime Video app and on PrimeVideo.com. Moreover, a large selection of Prime Video’s content can be watched with Hindi show descriptions and Hindi subtitles.
Prime members, whose choice of language is Hindi, can now discover and enjoy Prime Video’s collection of entertainment content in their preferred language. Prime Original series like Comicstaan, Inside Edge, and the upcoming much awaited Mirzapur, Bollywood blockbusters such as Padmaavat, Raazi and Race 3 will have show-titles and show descriptions in Hindi.
The facility is not limited to Indian content only. Hollywood hits like Justice League, Baywatch and Passengers can be watched with dubbing in Hindi or subtitles in Devanagari script. Viewers can also manage their account information, payments, add to their watch-list, and receive customer support in the language.
“As Prime Video’s customer base expands across India, we believe it becomes important to not just offer content in local languages, but to also give customers the option to access the Prime Video app and website in their language of choice. At Amazon, we are continuously customising our offering based on the needs of the customer; we are delighted to make Prime Video available in Hindi, with functionalities such us search, navigation and browsing, so that a large base of our audience has an even more engaging experience on our service,” Amazon Prime Video India business director and head Gaurav Gandhi said.
“We will continue to invest in localisation initiatives, adding more titles with Hindi subtitles or dubbing, and evolving the product experience for Prime members in India, enabling them to watch their favorite movies and TV shows at a time, on the device and in the language of their choice. Our efforts of localization will continue with a Tamil and Telugu user interface for customers which we will offer very soon,” he added.
The video streaming service has content available in six Indian languages. The new move clearly indicates how Amazon Prime Video is targeting to penetrate mass audience unlike its international rival Netflix.
iWorld
WhatsApp emerges as key commerce channel in India: Meta report
Whitepaper shows 77 per cent of purchases influenced by social media and shoppers spend 2.5 times more across channels
MUMBAI: If shopping once meant a stroll down the high street, today it begins with a scroll on a smartphone. India’s retail journey is being rewritten in real time, as consumers glide between Instagram Reels, WhatsApp chats and physical stores with barely a pause for thought. A new whitepaper by Meta in collaboration with the Retailers Association of India argues that this shift is not cosmetic but structural, powered by artificial intelligence, short form video, creators and conversational commerce.
The numbers underline the scale of the change.
Social media now influences 77 per cent of retail purchase decisions in India, with Meta’s platforms accounting for 96 per cent of social driven discovery. Discovery itself is increasingly passive and visual rather than deliberate and search led. As much as 97 per cent of consumers watch short form video daily, and 60 per cent of time spent on Facebook and Instagram is devoted to video content.
In other words, the shop window has moved to the feed.
The report highlights the growing dominance of the omnichannel shopper, a consumer who researches and buys fluidly across online and offline environments. More than 50 per cent of retail consumers research products online before purchasing in store. Equally, over 50 per cent browse in store before completing their purchase online.
This blended behaviour is lucrative. Shoppers who buy across channels spend 2.5 times more than single channel shoppers. When customers engage across multiple touchpoints, spending rises by as much as 73 per cent. For retailers, unified commerce is no longer a strategy slide. It is a revenue imperative.
Meta India director of E commerce and retail Meghna Apparao, urged brands to focus on three pillars: Reels and creators for authentic storytelling, omnichannel performance marketing to connect platforms, and WhatsApp as a personalised commerce channel. Hitesh Bhatt of RAI noted that the challenge is no longer adopting digital tools but integrating them to deliver measurable outcomes.
Artificial intelligence sits at the heart of this integration. Indian retailers using Meta’s omnichannel optimisation have recorded more than fourfold improvements in omnichannel return on ad spend. Businesses that integrated in store sales data through Meta’s Conversions API have reported Roas uplift ranging from 2 times to 5 times or more, alongside incremental sales growth of up to 9 times depending on category and market.
Integrated data strategies have also delivered revenue growth of up to 15 per cent, suggesting that when digital signals are tied to offline outcomes, marketing efficiency sharpens considerably.
Retailers are already putting this into practice. Reliance Digital has leaned into a Reels first strategy, working with regional creators to drive engagement and measurable business impact. Croma says Meta’s AI powered tools have enabled it to integrate offline data and activate performance marketing across touchpoints, strengthening both footfall and revenue across online and physical stores.
Trust is increasingly creator led. The report finds that 71 per cent of consumers make a purchase within a couple of days of seeing creator content on Meta’s technologies. Campaigns that leverage reels and creators have delivered 71 per cent higher brand intent lift and 19 per cent lower acquisition costs.
Micro and nano creators, in particular, are accelerating purchase decisions by embedding products into relatable, local narratives. Influence is no longer confined to celebrity endorsements. It is distributed, conversational and continuous.
If Instagram and Facebook drive discovery, WhatsApp is emerging as the conversion engine. According to the report, 72 per cent of product discovery now happens on WhatsApp. Retailers using business messaging and click to WhatsApp campaigns are seeing a 61 per cent average improvement in return on ad spend, a 62 per cent increase in leads and 22 per cent higher order values.
The implication is clear. Commerce is shifting from clicks to conversations. Discovery, purchase and post purchase support increasingly unfold within a single chat thread.
The whitepaper argues that omnichannel maturity will define competitiveness in Indian retail. Consumers no longer toggle between online and offline modes. They operate across both simultaneously, often within the same buying journey.
For brands, the task is no longer about being present on digital platforms. It is about stitching together discovery, data, conversation and store experience into a unified loop that can be measured in footfall, revenue and repeat purchase.
As India’s shoppers continue to scroll before they stroll, the retailers who align AI, creators and messaging into one seamless experience may find that the path to growth is less about adding new channels and more about connecting the ones they already have.
