Spiritual tourism puts devotional apps on growth curve; ad spends up by 25%
Witnessing a significant surge in downloads each day, in some cases 10% growth in downloads week on week, devotional apps expand services, and promotional activities.
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More than a confluence of belief, faith and culture, Maha Kumbh 2025 is turning out to be a sacred opportunity for applications of all sorts — especially that aim to connect every devotee with the spiritual gathering. As the event gains momentum, devotional apps — apps that offer puja services, devotional songs, mantras, allow users to perform virtual puja, temple darshans — have already seen a remarkable rise in interest.
One such app, Sri Mandir, has witnessed a 50% increase in app downloads compared to the lean period. "This growing engagement is enabling us to serve an additional 1–2 lakh devotees, and we anticipate a significant 40–45% growth in revenue during Maha Kumbh", shares its founder and CEO, Prashant Sachan.
In line with the surging growth, Sri Mandir has allocated a 25% increase in advertising budget to amplify awareness and show its commitment to providing the best experience for devotees.
Enhanced Brand Awareness
Bhakti app, a spiritual audio storytelling platform (by Kuku FM), promotional activities surrounding Kumbh Mela constitutes about 5%-8% of its annual marketing spends and therefore it is looking at Kumbh as a major driver to grow its brand awareness. On top of its existing daily downloads from Play Store, Kumbh is driving an additional 10% growth in downloads week-on-week, shares Jhoomer Sinha, VP- India, Hindi Business at Kuku FM.
"Given the massive positive response we are getting from Kumbh we may plan to increase our advertising spends across digital platforms in the coming weeks by 10-15% to further promote Bhakti or launch new campaigns," he adds. In terms of overall growth, the Bhakti app expects Kumbh to further drive top-of-the-funnel brand awareness for Kuku FM and Bhakti by 30% plus in the coming weeks and also create higher brand salience for the Bhakti app.
Vama, an app that allows users to book virtual pujas, temple darshans, and rituals, is experiencing a 25% surge in downloads compared to its regular business metrics. Building on its current base of more than 250,000 transacting users, it is on track to surpass $5 million in annual recurring revenue, shares co-founder, Manu Jain.
"We're projecting a 30-50% increase in user engagement during the Maha Kumbh period, aligning with our broader goal of reaching 1 million users. To support this growth trajectory, we've strategically enhanced our marketing efforts, including deploying on-ground teams at key locations to assist devotees with platform familiarisation," he adds.
Expansion Of Services:
To meet the growing demand, Sri Mandir has introduced several enhanced services tailored to devotees’ needs. This includes personalised pujas at Triveni Sangam, Maha Daan services for contributions from anywhere, and the delivery of Sacred Triveni Sangam Jal to homes that have received immense appreciation.
With 35,000 bottles already ordered, and it is on track to reach 60,000–70,000 bottles during Maha Kumbh.
At Kumbh, the Bhakti app has established dedicated WiFi spots to help users easily experience its app and audio stories. Additionally, its has also rolled out Kumbh-specific audio shows for the users to help them immerse themselves and listen to Kumbh-specific shows dedicated to the various spiritual beliefs and practices. It plans to roll out more stories over the next couple of weeks.
For its part, Vama app has expanded the platform capabilities to meet the unique demands of Maha Kumbh, which includes introduction of live kathas, enabling virtual participation for devotees worldwide. Additionally, it has also fortified its technical infrastructure to ensure seamless service delivery at scale, particularly focusing on features that bridge physical and digital spiritual experiences.
