It is no secret that the past few years have wildly shaken up the world – especially when it comes to doing business. Coronavirus, international shipping delays, and rising prices have drastically reshaped customer needs and expectations in virtually every market – as a new report from Google makes particularly clear.
Using a comparison of search trends from 2021 to 2022, Google’s data reveals what customers are looking for as we settle into a “new normal” and brace for even more new challenges in the future.
What Customers Want
More than anything, the search trends from Google reveal that customers are looking for brands that can provide the goods and services they are looking for when they need them. This is reflected by significant increases in searches extended hours and quick service.
For example, the report shows these search phrases saw major increases over the past year:
- “Late night shopping”: Up 100% year-over-year
- “24/7 customer service”: Up 500% year-over-year
- “Next day flower delivery”: Up 800% year-over-year
Return to In-Person Events
Google search data makes it very clear that consumers are itching to get back out and enjoy in-person events again, now that the coronavirus pandemic appears to be winding down. This has led to growth in searches for phrases like:
- “Cinema near me”: Up 300% year-over-year
- “Seating chart”: Up 600% year-over-year
- “Spring break”: Up 100% year-over-year
- “Unique things to do in”: Up 100% year-over-year
Some Pandemic Trends Linger
While shoppers are eager to ditch some aspects of the pandemic, Google pinpoints a few trends which popped up during quarantines and appear to be sticking around. These “sticky” trends include:
- “Makeup game”: Up 700% year-over-year
- “Best movies to stream right now”: Up 300% year-over-year
- “Nursery plants near me”: Up 100% year-over-year
- “Hair trends female”: Up 800% year-over-year
For more, check out Google’s full Global Insights Briefing for 2022 here.