ETtechShareChat’s virtual gifting feature has touched $50 million in annual recurring revenue, and that is set to more than double by year-end, a senior executive told ET.
The local language social media network, owned by Mohalla Tech, has over 180 million monthly active users in the country. It launched the in-app virtual gifting feature in September 2020 as one of the various revenue models that the company aimed to monetise. The feature enables users to send virtual gifts in digital tokens to the hosts or the live audio chat room creators, making them feel valued.
ShareChat has, in the past year, built diversified monetization avenues beyond advertising.
For example, a ‘crown’ may be worth 50 coins or a 'rose' may be worth 25 coins and a 'wah wah' (well done in Hindi) sticker may be worth 10 coins.
A Shayari (poetry in Urdu) session, for example, can attract real money from fans.
Creators can cash out these virtual gifts - after ShareChat takes a platform cut - and transfer the earnings to their bank accounts.
“If users like what they’re listening to, they can appreciate the creators by giving them virtual gifts, which are highly engaging and interactive. From a technical perspective, these are micro transactions. We have our own virtual currency on the platform through which users can buy virtual gifts,” Zunjarwad said.
Audio Chatrooms has become one of the largest voice-based live hangouts, with two billion minutes of audio streamed every month and more than 16 million monthly active users.
The chatroom feature was aimed at providing a platform for regional audiences to connect with each other and communicate in their preferred language, since the platform works in 15 Indic languages.
“It (virtual gifting) serves as a feedback loop while also being a meaningful income source. It serves as a medium to form deep connections with consumers. It is a unique construct in which we find high engagement levels. It is organic and has become a large business for us. Users get a sense of personal connection with the creators,” Zunjarwad added.
ShareChat has more than 400 million monthly active users across all its platforms.
It is currently valued at $5 billion and has short-video app Moj – with a monthly active user base of nearly 300 million - under its portfolio.
“We take a platform cut for facilitating the transaction, but a large portion of the money (in virtual gifts) goes to creators. We have been focussed on it for the past 18 months and this business has scaled well. We are well on track to double this business in the next six months,” he said.
The local language social media network, owned by Mohalla Tech, has over 180 million monthly active users in the country. It launched the in-app virtual gifting feature in September 2020 as one of the various revenue models that the company aimed to monetise. The feature enables users to send virtual gifts in digital tokens to the hosts or the live audio chat room creators, making them feel valued.
“Users spend about 30 minutes on an average and we have 30 million creators on the platform,” ShareChat’s chief product officer Amit Zunjarwad told ET.
ShareChat has, in the past year, built diversified monetization avenues beyond advertising.
For example, a ‘crown’ may be worth 50 coins or a 'rose' may be worth 25 coins and a 'wah wah' (well done in Hindi) sticker may be worth 10 coins.
A Shayari (poetry in Urdu) session, for example, can attract real money from fans.
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Creators can cash out these virtual gifts - after ShareChat takes a platform cut - and transfer the earnings to their bank accounts.
“If users like what they’re listening to, they can appreciate the creators by giving them virtual gifts, which are highly engaging and interactive. From a technical perspective, these are micro transactions. We have our own virtual currency on the platform through which users can buy virtual gifts,” Zunjarwad said.
Audio Chatrooms has become one of the largest voice-based live hangouts, with two billion minutes of audio streamed every month and more than 16 million monthly active users.
The chatroom feature was aimed at providing a platform for regional audiences to connect with each other and communicate in their preferred language, since the platform works in 15 Indic languages.
“It (virtual gifting) serves as a feedback loop while also being a meaningful income source. It serves as a medium to form deep connections with consumers. It is a unique construct in which we find high engagement levels. It is organic and has become a large business for us. Users get a sense of personal connection with the creators,” Zunjarwad added.
ShareChat has more than 400 million monthly active users across all its platforms.
It is currently valued at $5 billion and has short-video app Moj – with a monthly active user base of nearly 300 million - under its portfolio.
“We take a platform cut for facilitating the transaction, but a large portion of the money (in virtual gifts) goes to creators. We have been focussed on it for the past 18 months and this business has scaled well. We are well on track to double this business in the next six months,” he said.
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