Queries for ‘movie in theater’ rose by 220% and ‘live concert’ grew by 80%, besides searches for ‘OTT release’, which rose by 380%, as per the ‘Year in Search’ report released by Google for 2022. The report stated that sporting events saw queries on ‘cricket match ticket’ growing by 170% and ‘Fifa world cup ticket’ by over 140%. As per the report, people have become adept at the hybrid lifestyle and are using digital services to make their lives easier, and free up time they save to enjoy offline experiences that they most missed in the prolonged pandemic period. Their need to simplify their lives saw searches for ‘instant delivery’ growing by over 180% and ‘e-wallet’ by over 40%, it added.
This year’s report points to people emerging from a period of disruption determined to claim control of their lives, Roma Datta Chobey, senior director-digital first businesses, Google India, said. “As people become increasingly proficient in merging the ease of digital with the magic of experiential into a continuum, businesses too need to re-envision their channel strategies and minimise frictions between their online and in-store presence,” Chobey added.
Given that the post-pandemic period saw an ease in travel restrictions, the demand for travel in 2022 surpassed 2019’s pre-pandemic levels across most of Asia-Pacific (APAC). In India, the searches for ‘international trip’ nearly doubled to grow at 80%, the report stated. Search interest for ‘Thailand trip’ and ‘Europe trip’ grew by 90% and 50%, respectively.
As people look forward to getting back to travelling, searches for ‘cheap flights’ have seen a surge of 60% in Google searches. At the same time, Indians looked to pamper themselves with search interest for ‘luxury hotels’ growing by 40%. Equally keen to reconnect with their immediate surroundings, search interest in ‘local guide program’ also saw a growth of over 90%.
“As purchase patterns continue to evolve, people are also optimising their spending towards brands they can trust and that share their concerns for the environment. ‘Green brands’ have an exciting opportunity to strengthen their credibility by sharing information about their contributions towards sustainability,” Chobey elaborated.
According to the report, people’s interest in sustainability grew by 40% with searches aiming to combine environment consciousness with cost savings. Additionally, the report added that ‘organic products’ doubled in search interests, ‘affordable and clean energy’ queries also increased by 140%, and people explored ‘things that can be recycled’ with a growth in this query rising 20%.
Moreover, people’s evolving sense of self is evidenced in an uptick of searches on self-care. As people increase their expenditure on health and fitness by 43%, grooming services by 35%, and beauty and personal care products by 31%, their searches also gained in specificity with interest in ‘heart shape face hairstyle male’ growing by over 330%, ‘limited edition shoes’ by 170%, and ‘perfume for women’ up by over 40%, the report observed.