The coronavirus has been a boon for spiritual and astrology apps, said Manu Jain, co-founder of Vama.app, a New Delhi-based startup that offers astrology services as well as booking virtual pujas, temple darshans and rituals.
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Indeed, platforms like SmartPuja, Harivara, ePuja and others offering similar services that were launched before the pandemic have not seen the same success.
“It was only a year or two ago that venture capitalists started recognising this space as a solid, cash-generating business,” said Jain, who said his app now clocks annual revenue of $2 million (roughly Rs 167 crore).
Vama.app has 400,000 monthly active users and 32,000 monthly transacting users.
“To some extent, I feel Hinduism has also come more to the fore in the last decade,” Jain told ET.
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The inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya also triggered a surge in the usage of devotional apps, which some industry experts liken to the surge in digital payment apps like Paytm after demonetisation in 2016.Strong Spirit
The founder of one of the apps mentioned above said India has always had a strong underpinning of spirituality, irrespective of religion. “An explosion of opportunities came post-COVID-19 when digital engagement started skyrocketing across sectors,” said the entrepreneur on condition of anonymity.
“Be it online astrology or digital puja, post-Covid, we have seen greater approval and acceptance among consumers,” the entrepreneur said.
This trend isn’t limited to any particular age group, he added, “Millennials and Gen Z are also using these services in large numbers.”
Digital astrology platform AstroTalk, which recently raised $9.4 million in funding from New York-based Left Lane Capital and Elev8 Venture Partners, expects revenue to more than double to Rs 6.2-6.3 crore in fiscal 2024 from Rs 2.83 crore in the previous fiscal. The company is targeting profit of Rs 1.2 crore in fiscal 2024, more than four times increase from Rs 27 crore in fiscal 2023.
AppsForBharat, backed by Peak XV Partners and Elevation Capital, which provides devotional content like mantras and helps users perform puja and meditation at home, reported revenue of Rs 353 crore and a loss of Rs 4.5 crore in FY23. Revenue grew 5.2x to Rs 1,859 crore in FY24 with an operating loss of Rs 3.1 crore.
Navin Honagudi, managing partner at Bengaluru-based Elev8, said many of these businesses were not viable before the pandemic, but market expansion and “significantly” higher online penetration have led to improved profitability and economic metrics after the pandemic.
“The companies that have scaled have built strong, profitable unit economics around this, so that means companies in this space are actually making profits now, and their customer acquisition costs (CAC) and customer lifetime value (LTV) are adding up,” he said.
But investing in early-stage companies in the astrology and spirituality space can be tricky because many of the startups offer similar promises and plans, making it hard to tell which ones will be successful, Honagudi said.
“Around 20 companies have been started in this space and most of them have failed,” he said. “VCs are finding it very difficult to be confident and back companies at this early stage because what can you show in terms of proof of concept or product-market fit at this early stage? You just need to back the entrepreneurs and the market.”
Revitalization of the tourism industry
Platforms such as DevDham, which helps users plan and book pilgrimages and religious tours, are helping boost tourism.
Speaking as part of the company’s quarterly earnings call on Thursday, Ixigo co-founder Rajnish Kumar said spiritual tourism has picked up steam over the past year, especially since the inauguration of the Ram temple and the opening of Ayodhya airport.
“Our independent searches for FY24 have confirmed that spiritual tourism has been thriving with increased visitor numbers to Varanasi throughout the year. Subsequent to the inauguration of the Ram Temple and opening of Ayodhya airport, air routes connecting major cities to Ayodhya have been able to capture a higher market share than the national average, with similar activity continuing at airports like Darbhanga, Jhasuguda, Patna, Kanpur and Lucknow,” Kumar said while announcing the company’s quarterly results.
Hospitality company Oyo also reports that it has seen a steady increase in religious tourism over the past few years. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to open more than 400 hotels and homestays in religious centres, with the first 65 opening in Ayodhya.
According to OYO’s Annual Travel Trends Report 2023, Puri has taken the top spot as the most booked spiritual and pilgrimage destination, followed by Amritsar, Varanasi and Haridwar.
