Viber performance in first half of 2020 

The first half of 2020 brought a new set of experiences for the Rakuten Viber team, but also a new set of milestones. Throughout the Asia Pacific region, Viber’s performance has steadily grown, with a 208 per cent growth in messages sent to communities and a 129 per cent jump in views in communities compared to the same period last year, the global messaging app said in a media release. 

Compared to 2019 data, Viber has recorded an increase of usage in Sri Lanka during the first half of 2020, with a 39 per cent increase in daily activations, and a 34 per cent rise in sending group messages, with a growth of 91 per cent in the number of messages sent in a group. It said 1-1 messages increased by 37 per cent and community views surged by 118 per cent.

Likewise, the rest of the region experience accelerated activity, especially when it comes to communicating within groups and communities. Countries in the Asia-Pacific saw strong growth in the number of messages sent within Viber groups compared to 2019—Philippines at 95 per cent, Myanmar at 41 per cent, Nepal at 67 per cent, Vietnam at 43 per cent, and  Bangladesh at 48 per cent. Community engagement similarly grew, with most countries almost doubling their numbers of community views, Myanmar at 106 per cent growth, Nepal at 195 per cent and Philippines at 2.5x increase in community viewers. Bangladesh saw solid growth in their community views with their 77 per cent increase.

As one of the largest messaging apps in the world, Viber has also entered into new significant partnerships in the first part of the year, which all focused on providing people with reliable and life-saving information about COVID-19 and individuals with a space where they feel can connect with others amid physical distancing rules.

Similarly in Sri Lanka, Viber launched an ecommerce bot with the biggest supermarket chain Cargills Foodcity that allows users to purchase essential goods that can be delivered to their homes or to be picked up at their closest outlet. National Lottery Sri Lanka also launched its own Viber bot and Community. The bot supports online purchase of lottery tickets and allows people to check the official results and winners of the lottery. 

Known for having the largest female customer base in the country, Peoples Bank, launched a special Women’s Day bot and sticker pack. 

As it celebrates its 10th anniversary in December with an exciting line-up of surprises for users, Viber continues to develop as a lifetime app, empowering people to communicate securely, work conveniently, and connect with brands, the release said.

COVID-19 response

In response to COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent quarantine orders, Viber has increased its capacities and doubled the maximum number of participants to 20 people at once in Group Video and Audio Calls to address the restrictions on face-to-face interactions. Viber is also allowing users to react to messages in communities, to help bring online communication a step closer to real life convos.
 
Viber has launched a special chatbot for the World Health Organisation, allowing the international agency to share verified information on COVID-19 and answer some of the people’s pressing questions on the coronavirus all within their messaging app. The Philippines’ own Department of Health (DOH) has created its own Viber Community and Kira Chatbot  to amplify their online reach and effectively provide crucial updates on the situation in the country. DOH has also used the platform to debunk fake news.