Ecommerce, OTT, gaming register over 100 pc rise in business in 2020: PayU

Transactions and spending in ecommerce, gaming and over-the-top (OTT) segments grew by over 100 percent in 2020 due to adoption of digital services during the pandemic, digital payments firm PayU said in a report on Tuesday.

At the same time, travel and hospitality were some of the most impacted sectors with an 86 percent drop in the number of transactions and expenditure between pre and post-COVID quarters (January-March compared to April-June 2020), according to the PayU trends report.

"As theatres and offline entertainment avenues remained shut, consumers turned to indoor entertainment. The OTT segment witnessed an incredible 144 percent increase in the number of transactions and a 139 percent increase in expenditure between 2019 and 2020.

"The gaming segment saw a phenomenal 100 percent increase in expenditure and a 154 percent increase in average ticket size between the two years," the report said.

The retail and ecommerce segments recorded a massive 106 percent increase in the number of transactions, and a 124 percent rise in expenditure between the first and last six months of 2020.

PayU recorded a 45 percent spike in the number of online transactions during the festive season (October-December 2020) compared to the same period in the previous year.

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"In line with this trend, PayU processed close to 100 million transactions, in a single month during the festive period (15 October - 15 November, 2020)," the report said.

According to PayU, the edtech segment registered a 78 percent increase in the number of transactions and a 44 percent jump in expenditure between 2020 and 2019.

"The most likely explanations are professionals up-skilling, as they worked from home, and students shifting to online education. In fact, the number of transactions for edtech increased by an incredible 69 percent immediately after the lockdown (April-May 2020 compared to January-March 2020).

"Though the edtech segment witnessed growth, the average ticket size reduced by 19 percent, possibly as course prices dropped in response to a surge in demand," the report said.