Indian Teens Go Digital: Here’s where they are spending their money
With the surge in e-commerce and advancement in digital payment technology, a majority of youngsters are now preferring to shop online. Ed-fintech startup Akudo analysed spending habits of over 1 lakh randomly selected teens between the ages of 11 and 19, and noted that Amazon and Swiggy emerged as preferred online shopping and food ordering apps, respectively, while Myntra witnessed a whopping 150 per cent increase in sales during the End of Reason sale.
“For the first time since the advent of digital payments in India, teen spending can be monitored and analysed with the help of teenage neobanks,” said Akudo, a fintech startup that aims to build an ecosystem of guardians and children where teens can make financial decisions in a safe and controlled environment.
In the entertainment and travel segments, a total of 4 per cent transactions occurred on ride-hailing applications, with Ola emerging as the most preferred mode of transportation.
Among the users who ordered cards, according to the data reviewed by Akudo, 51 per cent of transactions took place digitally, while 49 per cent happened offline, while 6 per cent of the transactions were on educational platforms such as Byjus, Khan Academy, Unacademy and more.
Backed by leading investors such as Y-combinator, JAFCO Asia, Incubate India, and angel investors like Lalit Keshre, Co-founder, Groww to name a few, Akudo is pioneering learning first banking in India by introducing teens to banking and helping them build healthy spending and saving habits.
Currently having 1 million registered users, Akudo aims to reach more than 5 million households by the end of 2022 with an increased focus on building open financial communication amongst parents and children.
Akudo also has a gamified savings and goals feature that saw a 30 per cent increase in usage since 2021. The application is helping teenagers start their journey to financial independence through their prepaid Visa card accompanied by family-friendly controls and oversight.
Commenting on these insights, Lavika Aggarwal, Co-founder, Akudo, said, “ As you can see, there’s not much difference between the adoption of cards and digital payments amongst teens. They prefer a combination of both means which allows them the freedom to choose and instill a sense of independence and responsibility. A personal prepaid card is also very convenient and attractive for a teenager.”
“We also discovered from our findings that while Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai emerged as top cities witnessing demand for prepaid debit cards, Patna, Lucknow, Jaipur were the other top tier 2 and tier 3 cities on the platform. Interestingly, Tier 1 and Tier 2 adoption so far are at par,” Aggarwal further said.