Women Spend Nearly 50% More Time Than Men on Digital Platforms, Report Says
NEW DELHI — Women are driving digital engagement in urban India, spending more time than men on platforms across entertainment, messaging, e-commerce and quick commerce, according to a new report.
The joint report by consumer behavior analytics platform VTION and the Internet and Mobile Association of India found that women spent more time than men across most digital categories, with the sharpest differences seen on commerce platforms.
Women spent an average of 82.4 minutes per day on entertainment-related content, the report said. Women ages 25 to 34 recorded the highest engagement in that category, averaging 86.3 minutes per day.
In e-commerce and quick commerce, urban women ages 25 to 34 in megacities spent an average of 35.2 minutes per day on such platforms, compared with 24.8 minutes for urban male users. That reflected a 42% higher engagement level among women in that cohort.
The report also found rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence apps, which are emerging as a daily digital habit in urban India. The AI app category grew more than 100% between April 2025 and March 2026, with urban users spending an average of 11.3 minutes per day on AI applications.
AI app usage is currently concentrated among users ages 18 to 34 and higher-income urban households. Conversational AI is also influencing how consumers discover brands and products online, with some users turning to AI tools before opening traditional search or e-commerce platforms, the report said.
Young urban users ages 18 to 24 are leading social media engagement, averaging 120 minutes per day, compared with the overall category average of 97.9 minutes.
Urban consumers older than 35 remain a key base for entertainment platforms, spending about 77 to 78 minutes per day consuming content.
Payment app engagement was broadly consistent across income groups, with similar usage patterns among higher-, middle- and lower-income urban households.
The report analyzed data from more than 100,000 consented smartphones representing more than 407 million urban Indians. (Source: IANS)
