Well, well, what do we have here? It seems Snapchat is giving us one way to boost our ‘average revenue per user’ stats. A month after the launch of its Snapchat+ subscription offer in mostly Western markets, Snap is now making the option available to India – though at a much lower price point compared to its initial push.
Indian Snap Bonus
Just for some context (and maybe a quick review as well), Snapchat+, which offers an assortment of exclusive access and features, is available to users in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE for US $3.99 a month or the local equivalent.
However, in India, Snapchat+ will be launching with a starting price of 49 Rupees, which roughly converts to around 62 US Cents. That seems like a fairly big discount and, according to reports, Snapchat+ in India will offer access to all the same features and tools that the general offer has. So, the big question – why is it so damn cheap?
For one, it’s a different market, and Snap needs to price its offering in line with the state of the local economy. Snapchat+ also doesn’t cost Snap anything to produce. As such, there are no production costs built in, granting Snap the flexibility to offer variable price points, should it choose to do so. As noted, it could crucially be a way for Snap to enhance its revenue per user stats, which, right now, reflects its strong reliance on the North American market for revenue.
If Snap can even out and show how it can become a more important and valuable platform in other markets and make money from its presence, that could help improve its market standing, while also bringing in additional revenue – which would also equate to income that’s not reliant on ad spend. This is good news for Snap since, like all social platforms, its ad revenue has taken a hit due to Apple’s ATT update.
It seems a logical and sensible approach, helping make Snap more sticky with Indian users. Snap has seen significant growth in India since it upgraded its Android app back in 2019. Android is, by far, the most popular OS in the Indian market, and as local connectivity and tech continues to evolve, that’s also opened the door for Snap to establish a bigger local presence. The Indian TikTok ban of 2020 only helped further cement Snap’s viability as a good alternative.
The Wrap
True enough, Snapchat is now reportedly up to 144 million daily actives in the Indian market, overtaking the US (108M) as its top country by user adoption – so while it’s not the highest earning region for the company, it is now, arguably, the most important. This is also why the expansion of Snapchat+ makes sense.
While Western users may be annoyed that they have to pay more for these features, it’s just another showcase of Snap’s ingenuity to grow its revenue, which could end up paying off big time for the app. If Western users are getting so worked up with it, then they should consider moving to India.
Subscribe to our ‘Bottoms Up!’ Newsletter. Get the latest social media blogs about news, updates, trends, and effective social media strategies to take your business to the highest level from Tristan Ahumada and Jeff Pfitzer.
Sources