The world has changed significantly in terms of every single variable in the pandemic times, including human behaviour, and it is the right time consumers are efficiently nudged into in order for brands to build and deliver effective campaigns in the run up to Diwali and beyond, a top Facebook executive has said.

This nudging has to be done keeping the fact in mind that most of the buying decisions are now being made on smartphones -- via Facebook and its family of apps, Sandeep Bhushan, Director and Head of Global Marketing Solutions (GMS) by Facebook India, told IANS.

"More than half the purchases in key festival spends of fashion and tech devices are now influenced by what consumers see on their mobile phones," Bhushan said.

A significant digital acceleration has happened on the back of social media in India.

"With over 400 million Indians connected on the Facebook family of apps in India, we will play a consequential role this festive season in both brand discovery and delivering truly incremental business outcomes," he added.

Nearly 70 per cent mobile consumers in urban India are now expected to be digitally influenced.

"While 55-60 per cent apparel consumers are expected to be digitally influenced, 85 per cent urban automobile consumers have already been digitally influenced," Bhushan informed.

There are now more than 3.1 billion people using Facebook services every month to stay connected with their friends, family and communities.

On average, 2.5 billion people use at least one of its services on a daily basis.

The social network supports more than 50 million WhatsApp Business app users globally and more than 15 million in India every month.

Videos make up for over a third of posts on Instagram in India.

India is one of the leading markets for Facebook Watch and live broadcasts from Facebook Pages in the country tripled in June compared to the same time last year.

According to Bhushan, Video, augmented reality (AR) and interactive ads will play a leading role this festive season as people continue to remain at home.

"Facebook and Instagram influence nearly 80 per cent of Gen Z and millennials' festive shopping. Shoppers today seen authenticity while dealing with brands and influencers lead authenticity," He said.

While 49 per cent festive shoppers for apparel would like to see virtual demos before making a purchase, 53 per cent shoppers watch or share videos on Facebook and Instagram.

Nearly 56 per cent festive shoppers for apparel and beauty say that product videos would help them with their purchases.

"There is finally an uptick in the shopping mindsets of the consumers in India after several months of stay-at-home and social distancing times and saving for an uncertain future," Bhushan noted.