‘India Digital Future in Focus’, a report by internet analytics company, comScore, examines how the latest trends in web usage, online video, mobile and search, social and shopping are currently shaping the Indian digital marketplace and what that means for the coming year.

Key findings of the report are listed below:

India is now the world’s third largest internet population

Riding on a 31 per cent year-on-year increase, India’s online population grew to 73.9 million. With an extended online universe in excess of 145 million the market is at a tipping point for online businesses.

Younger males and women aged 35-44 emerge as power users

Three-quarters of India’s online population is under 35. Males in the segment and women aged 35-44 are amongst the heaviest users.

Online retail is on the rise

While 60 percent of web users in India visit online retail sites, time spent on shopping sites still has huge growth potential. The space is dominated by local retailers led by Myntra, Flipkart and Jabong among others.

However as compared to BRIC peers (Brazil, Russia and China), the online retail market in India is still underdeveloped but holds significant potential to increase penetration and engagement.

Blogs is another category which is not only on the rise but showed phenomenal growth, adding 11.6 million new users.

Social networking still captures majority of screen time

Social networks capture the largest percentage of consumers’ time in the region. Facebook continues to be the number one social network with a 28 per cent increase in traffic and a reach of 86 per cent. LinkedIn emerges as number two, while Pinterest and Tumblr are the fastest growing networks.

Entertainment and online video continues to grow

The online video audience in India grew an astounding 27 percent in the past year. YouTube continues to be the top video property with more than 55 per cent share. International publishers including Facebook, Yahoo and Dailymotion get a majority of the 54 million who watched videos. Local content is distributed mainly through the Youtube platform dominated by Bollywood.