iWorld
Amazon Prime Video strikes partnership with Jio
MUMBAI : Amazon today announced its collaboration with Jio, India’s largest and fastest growing digital service company, to provide JioFiber subscribers access to premium content on Amazon Prime Video app on its set-top box. In addition, Jio will offer one year of Prime membership worth Rs 999 a year to JioFiber customers on Gold and above broadband plans, at no extra cost. Through this deal, JioFiber customers can now seamlessly access the Amazon Prime Video app on their TV and enjoy Amazon’s latest and exclusive blockbuster Hollywood, Bollywood and Indian regional movies, top TV shows, stand-up comedies, kids programs, including critically acclaimed Indian and global Amazon Originals.
JioFiber customers, on Gold plans and above, can activate their Annual Amazon Prime Membership by signing in using their Amazon account or create a new Amazon account through their Jio Set-top box and by logging into MyJio app or Jio.com. Customers who are not eligible can simply recharge with JioFiber Gold and above plan to avail the offer. Existing Amazon Prime Members can directly sign-in to the Amazon Prime Video app on their Jio Set-top-box and start watching Prime Video’s wide selection of content including critically acclaimed Indian Amazon Originals like Paatal Lok, Four More Shots Please! The Family Man, Mirzapur and much-loved global Originals like Jack Ryan, Marvelous Mrs Maisel, The Boys amongst many others.
“We are delighted to work with Jio to make Amazon Prime membership available to Jio Fiber customers” Amazon Prime Video India director and country general manager Gaurav Gandhi said.
“With the annual Prime membership consumers will have access to the full bouquet of Prime benefits – unlimited streaming of the latest and exclusive video content, free and fast shipping, access to exclusive deals, ad-free music on Amazon Music, unlimited reading through Prime Reading and mobile gaming content with Prime Gaming. At Amazon, we constantly strive to offer customers, the best-in-class entertainment. With this launch, we will further extend the reach and access of Amazon Prime Video in India, giving more customers the experience of watching our broad selection of popular Amazon Originals, blockbuster movies, Indian as well as international shows, on their TV sets,” he added.
“Our partnership with Amazon Prime Video opens up a new world of entertainment for JioFiber customers. Jio continues to provide an enriched experience to its customers and this tie-up enable JioFiber users avail one year of Amazon Prime membership at no extra cost,” Jio strategy head Anshuman Thakur said in a statement.
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.
