March 3rd, 2021, Bhawna Singh
Data shows that a large majority of women are currently using digital payments and many more are likely to go cashless in future
YouGov’s latest survey on women and payment modes reveals nearly two-thirds of urban Indian women (67%) use digital modes of payment on a general basis.
Almost as many use cash (64%) but slightly lesser make payments through cards (54%). In comparison to these mediums, less than a third (30%) use internet banking for transactional purposes.
Digital payments have been widely accepted by the people of India ever since demonetization happened in the country. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of this mode of payment, not just in India but across the globe.
The data shows that among those who use digital payments modes, more than six in ten women (64%) use it on a regular basis but for one in five women (21%) it is the go-to mode and they only make payments through this medium. Slightly over a fifth (22% each) have recently started using it during the pandemic while another fifth (22%) use it only in the absence of cash or cards. One in seven (14%) use it occasionally.
Convenience stands as the biggest reason among women for using digital payment modes - at 81%. Rewards such a cashback, promotional offers, etc., is the second most popular reason for using it (70%). Apart from these, a large majority of women use digital payment modes because it enables them to keep a record of their payments (68%), while many other use it because they consider it safe and trustworthy (51%) and due to its wide-scale acceptance in the market as a payment method (46%).
When it comes to usage, most women said they use digital payments for mobile recharges (89%). Three- fourths use it for transactions related to delivery services (77%) and payment of utility bills (76%).
Shopping bills (69%), fund transfers (62%), travel & leisure bookings (50%) and toll payments (32%) are the other areas where women use digital payment modes.
When asked about the most preferred apps for digital transactions, Google Pay emerged as the top choice among females in India (43%), followed by Paytm (30%). The other apps like PhonePe, Amazon Pay and BHIM are far behind in terms of their popularity among Indian women (13%, 10% and 3% respectively). However, among generations, it is interesting to note that Gen Z is more likely to use PhonePe while Gen X prefers Amazon Pay or BHIM.
Looking ahead in future, almost eight in ten (78%) women expressed their likeliness to go completely cashless.
Using Profiles, our audience segmentation tool, we have taken a closer look at female digital payment app users to further analyse their characteristics and to better understand what makes them tick.
Profiles data suggests that a typical female digital payment app user in India is young, with three in one women (31%) falling in the age bracket of 30-39 years.
Compared to the national urban population, they are more likely to be married (53% vs 38% nat rep), reside in tier-1 cities (48% vs 35% nat rep) and a large proportion of them work full time (44% vs 35%).
They are prudent with their finances (84%) and look for profitable ways to invest their money (81%), but the willingness to take risks with money (35%) is slightly lower for this group of women. They are good at saving money and find the idea of debt stressful (77% and 73% respectively).
Looking deeper into the shopping habits and preferences of the group, we found that the quality of a product is paramount to these women and they do not mind paying extra for good quality products. They like to check out reviews and value the opinion of experts before deciding to buy something. Having said that, they are always on the lookout for special offers and do not mind switching brands in lieu of some offer.
TV and social media are their main sources of information. It is therefore obvious that TV adverts and online ads are likely to grab their attention. They are more likely to watch TV in the evening (between 6-11 pm) and are regular watchers of channels such as Colors (37%), Star Plus (32%) and &Pictures (31%).
When it comes to on-demand services, YouTube (67%), Amazon Prime (43%), Hotstar (41%) and Netflix (38%) are the most regularly sought after streaming services by them.
If a brand is trying to reach this group of females, advertising needs to be focused around their likes and dislikes, and beliefs, as this will resonate more with them.
Talking about the survey results, Deepa Bhatia, General Manager, YouGov India, said, “YouGov’s data shows that a substantial proportion of urban Indian women use digital payment apps and many more are likely to go completely cashless in the future. This makes them a lucrative group for those in the business of digital payment solutions. Therefore, understanding audience demographics and sentiments is key for brands looking to target this highly engaged group of consumers. Using granular insights about their target audience, brands and agencies can look to understand where the best opportunities lie moving forward and also where they should focus their communication efforts in order to relay the right message at the right time.”
Data collected online by YouGov Omnibus among around 1010 female respondents in India between February 16th -22nd, 2021 using YouGov’s panel of over 8 million people worldwide. Data is representative of the urban adult population in the country.