We’re currently living in unprecedented times. So how is our behaviour changing right now? And, more importantly for advertisers, what are we searching for online?
Researching products, messaging and placement for online advertisers isn’t usually very difficult for brands. They have a wealth of data to refer to, and a good understanding of how people behave.
But we’re living in strange times.
In our lifetimes we’ve never lived through a mass lockdown, which means the current situation is uncharted territory. And there is no relevant historical data to base marketing decisions on.
Luckily, we live in an era in which data is gathered and processed fast. So we are quickly understanding how consumers are behaving right now – and in particular how they’re changing their behaviour – and can adapt and plan accordingly.
And the data is showing some interesting, if not entirely surprising, trends.
Searches for puzzles have shot up by almost 6,000%
Take search data from a large online retailer for the week of 3rd-5th April. When compared to the week of 6th-8th March, there are some stark new trends.
The indoor entertainment category, unsurprisingly, has seen healthy growth. And it seems we’ve gone puzzle-mad, with searches for jigsaw puzzles increasing by 1,431%, and puzzles by 5,810%.
It appears quite a few of us will emerge from lockdown as amateur artists; paint by numbers searches increased by 1,398% and paint brushes by 1,225%.
We’re also turning to games, with searches for PlayStation increasing by 950%, table tennis tables by 724%, Jenga by 500% and Scrabble by 1,675%.
We’re working out at home
With gyms out of bounds, many of us are trying to keep the weight off by exercising at home. Here are some of the biggest increases in home gym equipment:
- Kettlebells 6,950%
- Barbells 3,558%
- Skipping ropes 2,467%
- Dumbbell sets 2,367%
- Resistance bands 2333%
- Exercise mats 1,767%
It’s not just our weight we’re worried about either. With no nail bars and barbers to visit searches for nail kits has soared by 4,700%, and hair clippers by 2,375%.
We look forward to seeing all the DIY hair cuts when this is over!
We’re sprucing up our homes
Being stuck at home is the perfect excuse to finally get round to all those DIY jobs we’ve been putting off.
So understandably we’re seeing higher search volumes for workshop tools (an increase of 950%) and carpet runners (675%).
More people working from home has also led to a change in search behaviour. Ergonomic office chairs are seeing a spike in popularity, with an increase of 1,450%, as are standing desks (1,080%) and web cams (9,533%).
Need help planning your lockdown strategy?
What’s your advertising strategy during lockdown? And how are you preparing for the end of lockdown?
A century’s worth of research proves that, even if people have changed their buying behaviours, it’s more important than ever for brands to be visible and maintain their marketing right now.
As experts in lifecycle marketing for display, we’ve got the data, investment and creative intelligence to help you plan a strategy that will keep you front of mind with your customers, grow your market share and increase sales.
If you’d like to find out how we can help you plan your lockdown strategy, please get in touch and we’d be happy to have a no-obligation chat.