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India’s Digital Appetite: A Nation’s Search Habits Decoded
MUMBAI: Kantar’s inaugural India in Search report has revealed a comprehensive transformation in Indian consumer behaviour, painting a portrait of a nation rapidly evolving in its digital sophistication. The report meticulously analysed data curation of Google search trends, further analysed by mapping emerging themes and topics against the Kantar trend framework matrix. The following are some of the trends that have emerged.
Sport: Cricket maintained its digital supremacy with 223.4 million monthly searches, but the landscape is diversifying. Women’s cricket has emerged as a powerful force, with searches surging 103 per cent. Traditional sports are gaining ground, with kabaddi up 75 per cent and hockey rising 40 per cent. Community sports have seen particular growth, with pickleball emerging as an unexpected contender alongside badminton.
Technology: The Mobile Revolution Chinese brands command 52 per cent of smartphone searches, with Samsung, Vivo, and iPhone leading overall volume. Premium devices show remarkable strength, with “Pro” versions seeing a 418 per cent surge. The Redmi 13C 5G dominated growth charts with 1 million searches (up 44,000 per cent), followed by Nothing Phone 2A (823,000 searches, up 37 per cent) and Motorola Edge 50 Fusion (673,000 searches, up 30 per cent).
Health and Wellness: A Holistic Shift Health queries have evolved beyond traditional concerns. Mental wellbeing and skin health have become prominent, with sensitive skin solutions attracting 5 million searches and pregnancy care reaching 2 million. Digital fitness solutions are preferred, with fitness apps (289,000 searches, up 12 per cent) outpacing personal trainers (307,000 searches, up 2 per cent).
Travel: The New Explorers Alternative destinations have seen searches rise 49 per cent. Lakshadweep emerged as a surprise beneficiary of diplomatic tensions, with searches soaring 268 per cent. Similar growth appeared for Azerbaijan (268 per cent) and Kazakhstan (226 per cent), reflecting Indians’ growing appetite for unexplored destinations.
Entertainment and Lifestyle The beauty sector showed dramatic growth in searches for hair colours (715 per cent), serums (419 per cent), and gels (40 per cent). Live entertainment has resurged, with concert searches rising 43 per cent for acts ranging from Coldplay to Diljit Dosanjh.
Dining and Experiences Fine dining searches have doubled, with Bengaluru leading the trend (416,000 searches, up 104 per cent). The rise in experiential dining suggests a maturing consumer palate and increased disposable income.
Digital Influence: Domestic influencers and vloggers have captured public interest (3 million searches, up 47 per cent), outperforming global celebrities (2 million, up 24 per cent). Regional celebrities saw declining interest (754,000 searches, down 11 per cent), suggesting a shift in cultural influence.
News Consumption: Major headlines drive 41 per cent of all searches, with financial news around Sensex and NIFTY showing strong interest. The report notes a growing sophistication in news consumption, with readers increasingly balancing mainstream sources with independent digital platforms.
The analysis, covering November 2023 to October 2024, examined over 400 search topics across 15 categories, offering unprecedented insight into India’s digital behaviour. The findings suggest a nation increasingly comfortable with digital technology, yet maintaining distinct cultural preferences in its online engagement
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PNB partners Kiwi to launch credit-enabled UPI for users
Targets 180 million customers; RuPay card offers 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent cashback
MUMBAI: Swipe, tap, or scan credit is quietly slipping into the rhythm of everyday payments, and Punjab National Bank wants in on the action. The state-run lender has partnered with Kiwi to roll out credit-enabled UPI payments for its 180 million customers, marking a significant push to blend traditional banking with India’s fast-evolving digital payments ecosystem.
At the centre of the collaboration is the launch of the PNB Kiwi Credit Card on the RuPay network. The card is designed with a digital-first approach, offering fully online onboarding and seamless integration with UPI, allowing users to transact via scan-and-pay while accessing credit.
The offering also brings in a rewards layer, with cashback ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent on online transactions, positioning the product as both a convenience play and a spending incentive.
The move comes as UPI continues to dominate India’s digital payments landscape, increasingly blurring the lines between debit-led transactions and credit access. For PNB, which operates over 10,000 branches around 60 per cent in semi-urban and rural areas, the partnership signals a targeted effort to extend formal credit to segments that have traditionally remained underserved.
The collaboration also reflects a broader industry shift, where banks and fintech platforms are converging to embed credit directly into payment flows, reducing friction while expanding access.
With RuPay credit cards gaining traction and UPI evolving beyond peer-to-peer transfers, the PNB–Kiwi tie-up positions both players at the intersection of scale, accessibility, and the next phase of digital finance in India.
