Short Video Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 - 2030)

Global Short Video Market Trends and Insights

5G-Enabled Cheap Mobile Data Drives Short-Video Consumption in Asia-Pacific

Regional network upgrades are widening bandwidth and slashing data costs. GSMA forecasts 641 million 5G connections in India by 2030, while its wider Asia-Pacific outlook shows mobile data traffic quadrupling this decade.^{[1]GSMA, “The Mobile Economy Asia Pacific 2024,” gsma.com}Ericsson projects smartphone users worldwide will average 35 GB monthly data by 2026, with video taking roughly three-quarters of that load. The improved capacity lets platforms stream 4K clips without buffering, encourages longer in-session times, and supports emerging live-commerce layers that rely on sub-second latency.

Commerce-Enabled Short Videos Boost Advertiser ROI in North America and Europe

Shopping tools now appear directly inside vertical clips, connecting discovery to checkout in a single scroll. YouTube introduced shoppable product stickers for Shorts in June 2025, giving creators a non-advertising path to earn from product placements. Brands value these placements because they observe full-funnel events, from view to sale, inside the same channel. This transaction visibility shortens attribution cycles and supports premium ad rates, especially for consumer-goods campaigns aimed at Generation Z.

AI Generative Editing Tools Lower Barriers for User-Generated Content Creation

Text-to-video and template-based editing now let novice users publish studio-grade reels in minutes. YouTube is testing Google’s Veo 3 model inside Shorts to automate scene generation and effects. Such tools are most transformative in emerging markets where expensive hardware was a hurdle. Greater clip velocity benefits platforms that reward frequent posting, yet it also creates algorithmic pressure to separate quality from volume.

Brand Budget Reallocation to Vertical Video Ad Units

Mobile-first viewing has nudged advertisers to pivot. Dentsu expects global online-video ad spending to grow 8% annually through 2028, with vertical formats taking an outsized slice because they fill the full phone screen and prevent rotation friction.^{[2]Dentsu, “Global Ad Spend Forecast 2025,” dentsu.com} The change is amplified by algorithm bias in favor of native portrait creatives, raising organic reach and lowering effective CPMs for brands that invest early.

Regulatory Scrutiny of Algorithmic Recommendations (EU-DSA, US-KOSA)

The European Commission began formal inquiries into TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat under the Digital Services Act in October 2024, requesting disclosure of ranking factors and user-choice settings.^{[3]European Commission, “Requests for information on recommender systems,” digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu} In the United States, the Kids Online Safety Act cleared the Senate in July 2024, introducing duty-of-care rules for users under 17. Compliance forces platforms to rebuild recommendation logic, elevate manual review spending, and potentially limit personalized feeds for minors, which could lower watch times and ad impressions.

Escalating Deep-Fake & Content-Moderation Costs

Synthetic media is driving operational expense. Venture capital investment in deepfake-detection startups topped USD 200 million during 2023-2024 as providers rushed to meet platform demand.^{[4]Nitasha Tiku & Tatum Hunter, “Firms selling deepfake detection,” washingtonpost.com} Platforms now pair automated scans with human reviewers, pushing per-video moderation costs higher each year. Smaller entrants struggle to match the scale of global incumbents, nudging the short video market toward further consolidation.

Segment Analysis

By Content Type: Live Video Drives Real-Time Engagement

Pre-recorded clips retained 58% revenue in 2024, yet live streams are forecast to post a 12.8% CAGR to 2030, the fastest within the short video market. Viewer appetite for real-time interaction fits naturally with 5G - low latency keeps chats synchronous and enables on-screen product drops. The short video market size for live streams is set to rise sharply as Asian platforms merge flash-sale shopping with influencer broadcasts. Indonesia and Thailand already host in-app checkout pilots where viewers purchase during live demos. Pre-recorded clips continue to benefit from AI-assisted edits that compress production cycles. Ephemeral stories hold a niche use-case, giving creators a low-pressure outlet for unpolished moments that sustain daily engagement.

Creator strategy now blends all three formats: hooks in short stories, deeper narrative in polished clips, and immediate revenue in live showcases. As algorithms evolve, platforms mix these signals to shape discovery panels, rewarding creators who master multiple content modes within the same profile.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Monetization Model: Diversification Beyond Advertising

In 2024, ads produced 76% of platform revenue, but alternative channels are growing faster. Tips, virtual gifts, and micro-transactions are projected to rise at 13.5% CAGR, a sign that users are willing to pay directly for value. This trajectory lowers volatility tied to CPM swings and seasonality. ShareChat’s practice of splitting revenue roughly evenly between ads and virtual coins shows hybrid structures gaining ground. The short video market size related to fan-funded payments could double by 2030 if direct-to-creator bonds strengthen. Subscriptions, brand collaborations, and in-clip shopping add further layers, creating a menu of income streams that make platforms stickier for talent.

Competition for top creators intensifies as Meta, YouTube, and TikTok roll out upfront bonuses and reduced take-rates to keep star uploaders exclusive. Sustainable monetization diversity now ranks alongside algorithm reach as a decisive factor in where creators post first.

By Deployment: Mobile-Native Dominance

Mobile apps accounted for 91% of 2024 usage, underscoring the handheld DNA of the short video market. The remaining 9% sits with web and smart-TV views, channels that serve discovery and casual browsing rather than daily binge sessions. Cross-platform tolerance matters, yet core engagement is still measured in portrait swipes, haptic taps, and push-driven returns. The short video market share linked to applications is unlikely to fall soon, given app-store placement and OS-level notification advantages.

Web portals do provide an entry path for older demographics or office-desktop users, and YouTube’s pivot to large-screen living-room viewing hints at broader future screens. However, flagships concentrate R&D on in-app experiences like AR filters, in-capture shopping carts, and community-tab polls that rely on native APIs.

By Platform Operating System: Android's Emerging-Market Advantage

Android led with 67% revenue in 2024, reflecting handset share in India, Southeast Asia, and Africa. iOS, while smaller in volume, is forecast to grow at 11.9% CAGR and delivers higher ARPU through in-app buys and tipping. The short video market size on iOS is expected to climb steadily as premium features such as 4K HDR uploads and exclusive badge systems stay paywalled behind Apple In-App Purchase compliance.

Snapchat’s recent India creator program shows how Android domination in tier-2 and tier-3 cities forces platforms to optimize for mid-range device memory footprints and patchy connectivity livemint.com. Over time, server-side rendering and dynamic bitrate tools may narrow the perceived quality gap, but monetization per user will likely stay skewed toward iOS.

By User Demographics - Age Group: Youth Engagement Drives Growth

Users aged 18-24 held 34% share in 2024, confirming that college and early-career viewers still anchor the audience core. The 13-17 bracket, though smaller today, is rising at 13% CAGR, reflecting how pre-teen smartphones and school-year leisure slots feed consumption. Platforms now design dual tracks: one algorithm for adults and another for minors, both needing high retention but different data privileges under KOSA rules

Older segments remain the white space. Education clips, travel hacks, and creator-led personal finance tips are slowly attracting viewers over 35, but ad spend follows youth eyeballs. Successful outreach to broader demos will demand clearer content labels and opt-in personalization so that first-time users feel safe layering short clips into their daily media diet.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By End-User Industry: Entertainment Leads, Commerce Accelerates

Media and entertainment produced 49% of 2024 revenue, a legacy of music-synced dance trends and meme culture. Retail-focused live commerce now shows the fastest runway at 14.2% CAGR, aided by influencer-led flash sales in Brazil and Southeast Asia. The short video market size for retail interactions could surpass pure entertainment by the decade’s end if conversion funnels stay friction-free.

Education, hospitality, and fintech follow behind, each experimenting with micro-learning modules, destination teasers, and payment explainers. The format’s near-instant feedback loop lets brands A/B-test messages daily, shortening creative cycles that were once measured in quarters.

Geography Analysis

Asia-Pacific generated 45% of revenue in 2024, a weight driven by China’s Douyin, India’s booming creator ecosystem, and Southeast Asia’s mobile-centric youth. India’s consumer-internet economy is forecast to hit USD 1 trillion, and daily active users of short clips have already grown 3.6 times since pre-pandemic levels. China hosts parallel giants such as Xiaohongshu with 300 million lifestyle fans, showing that sizable domestic user pools can support multiple winners. Ongoing 5G rollout supplies the bandwidth floor for 4K vertical streams and AR effects, so engagement hours keep climbing even as markets mature.

The Middle East & Africa, while smaller today, holds the highest projected growth at 12.1% CAGR through 2030. Smartphone affordability, youth-heavy populations, and rising local-language content libraries all widen the funnel. Broadband penetration in Africa stands at 12% yet is forecast to reach 17.3% by 2030. That connectivity uplift, combined with creator programs focused on regional dialects, positions the short video market for outsized momentum once infrastructure gaps narrow.

North America and Europe operate as regulatory pace-setters rather than volume leaders. The EU Digital Services Act and the forthcoming technical standards for recommender transparency impose redesign cycles that ripple globally. A possible TikTok restriction in the United States could shuffle ad budgets toward YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Despite slower user growth, these regions deliver the industry’s highest ARPU, thanks to brand demand for premium placements and a larger share of commerce-enabled clips.