Mumbai: Lockscreen content platform Glance recorded 163 million active users as of Q3 2021, according to Counterpoint Research’s Quarterly Mobile Application Tracker. Experiencing consistent growth since its inception, its active user base which now consists of 30 per cent of India’s smartphone users, grew by eight per cent QoQ in Q3 of 2021.

Glance’s presence is highly prominent in the $100- $250 price segment, with nearly two-thirds of the active users coming from this price band. Upper-mid-and-affordable premium ($250 and above) comprises about 20 per cent. Over the past year, the lockscreen content platform has expanded its reach beyond India, and is currently also available on devices across Southeast Asia.

Glance enables its users to access a wide range of content, including live interactive content, on their smartphone lockscreens. This content is curated from top publishers and developers in India across categories such as sports, current affairs, fashion, travel, food, commerce and entertainment.

Commenting on the development, Research Analyst Arushi Chawla said, “The lockscreen is the most visited real-estate on a smartphone. It is the first screen users see every time when unlocking their smartphone. Being present on this surface, Glance makes content discovery frictionless and improves the opt-in rate for interactive broadcasting, compared to any other in-app event features that require users to login. Glance’s recent foray into Live, interactive content has also helped it to differentiate itself as a platform and has helped boost user engagement levels.”

“As per our estimates, about a billion smartphones will be sold in the next five years in India, which brings a huge opportunity for a content platform to expand using Hardware as a Distribution (HaaD) model. Being a multilingual, pre-installed application in many leading smartphone OEMs it serves as a gateway to the latest content for many first-time smartphone users,” she added.

Glance continues to come up with engaging ways to create stickiness on the platform. With the launch of Glance Live, and a rise in interactive, real-time content, it is progressively bringing newness in content delivery. Content from Roposo’s top creators onto the Glance lockscreen platform has increased content uniqueness as well.

India is a price-sensitive and highly competitive market for OEMs. In many cases, it directly affects their operating margin and ability to maintain their market position. As the market dynamics are moving from hardware-level competition to providing an overall holistic experience, most of the OEM’s strategy will concentrate on maximising the customer’s lifetime value. In such a scenario long-term loyalty and value creation will depend on providing differentiating over-the-top services. Content will certainly play a key role in developing brand stickiness.

(The findings are based on a sponsored survey to better understand the brand’s presence in the Indian smartphone market.)