Mobile searches of the retail variety are ballooning at a rapid pace, according to a new report.
According to the BRC/Google Online Retail Monitor, “total retail search volumes grew at their fast rate this year increasing by 35% in the third quarter compared with the same quarter a year earlier.”
“Mounting pressures on household budgets may be generating more online retail searches as people work harder to compare prices and track down value,” says Stephen Robertson, British Retail Consortium Director General. “While searches grew 35 percent, their fastest this year, the BRC’s Retail Sales Monitor show growth in online spending has actually slowed to 10 percent suggesting extra searches are a symptom of bargain hunting.”
Mobile search volumes have increased 168% year-over-year.
“Retail searches on desktop rose by 35% y/y in q3,” adds Peter Fitzgerald, Retail Director for Google.
“Home and Garden saw strong growth in July, while it was back-to-school searches which fueled the August increase, with Consumer Electronics in particular seeing phenomenal growth in tablet’ searches,” Fitzgerald adds.
“September also saw an uplift, as Christmas gift related searches began to appear. This is unsurprising given that many consumers are Christmas shopping earlier this year, in order to spread the cost and avoid disruption due to bad weather. International searches for UK retailers also saw a massive uplift last quarter, as countries already originating large volumes of searches such as Russia, Pakistan and Mexico saw increases of between 90% and 300% y/y,” he concluded.
