Total retail search volumes grew 15% in the second quarter of 2013 compared with the same quarter a year earlier. Search volumes on tablet devices outpaced those on any other device, increasing 132% compared with growth on smartphone devices of 66%.
Total search volumes from UK consumers searching overseas retailers increased by 51% in Q2 compared with the previous year. Total search volumes grew fastest for DIY & Gardening, up 32% year-on-year. DIY & Gardening also had the highest growth in search volumes on tablets and smartphones, up by 170% and 81% year-on-year, respectively.
Growth in search volumes on tablets and smartphones were at their highest on the weekend before the Wimbledon Championships.
Helen Dickinson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said: “This quarter’s search data backs up the trends we have been seeing in the BRC’s Retail Sales Monitor, with increases in interest in clothing brands and garden products.
"As the weather has improved, these have been popular categories, and with the continuing increase in the use of mobile devices to perform these searches, we may well be seeing customers researching new wardrobe and garden purchases while outdoors enjoying the sunshine.
“These results also show the changes the internet is bringing to the international retail market. The considerable increase this month in the number of UK consumers searching overseas retailers show that barriers are increasingly being broken down. UK retailers are already responding well to these changes and will be keen to continue seeing equivalent increases in overseas customers searching them out.”
Peter Fitzgerald, Retail Director, Google, said: “The second quarter saw strong sustained growth in retail queries. Traditionally this is a strong quarter for DIY & Gardening retailers, a trend we saw repeated this year, fueled by some fair weather and three bank holidays.
"Pureplay retailers in particular regained their growth, responding to the pressure of multichannel retailers in the online space. International interest remains a strong lever for our homegrown retailers with fast-growing regions such as South America and Asia providing much of this increase. UK interest in overseas brands however, has really peaked this quarter driven in particular by interest in US brands.
“The growing multi-screening phenomenon across the UK - where people use their connected devices whilst watching TV - is also reflected in the growth in queries coming from tablets and smartphones.”
Search Volume Breakdown - Monthly (Year-on-year % change)
-Total retail search volumes growth was 17% in April compared with the same period a year earlier. This was higher than the growth in June of just 13%.
-Retail search volumes on tablet devices were highest in April 2013, up 143%.
-Growth of retail search volumes on smartphone devices was strongest in May, up 69% compared with 64% in June.
Sector Breakdown – Q2 2013 (Year-on-year % change)
-The growth rate of tablet searches outpaced those for smartphone retail searches in every sector of retail.
-Total retail search volumes growth was highest in the DIY/Gardening, homewares, footwear, and food and drink sectors.
-DIY/Gardening, Homewares and Footwear were the three fastest growing sectors on both smartphone and tablet devices.
-Total retail search volumes growth was lowest in the consumer electronics and leisure goods sectors.
United Kingdom Focus
-London accounted for 35% of total retail searches in the second quarter of 2013, down from 37% in the previous quarter.
-In the second quarter, the proportion of retail searches for the South of England and the Midlands increased by 1% compared with the first quarter of 2013.
-In the second quarter of 2013, the number of UK consumers searching for overseas retailers rose by 51% compared with the same quarter last year, up from 18% in the previous quarter.
-The number of overseas consumers searching for UK-based retailers rose 16% in the second quarter of 2013 compared with the same period last year, unchanged from the previous quarter.
-The map shows the changes in the number of retail-related searches for UK sites generated from Brazil, Russia, India and China. Brazil showed the highest rate of growth from those emerging markets growing by 319%, followed by Russia (30%). China and India both reported a decline in retail search volumes of -13%.
-A number of other countries also demonstrated considerable rates of growth in UK retail searches including Vietnam (84%), Columbia (60%), Ecuador (59%), Argentina (54%), Germany (45%), Netherlands (43%), Cambodia (31%) and Indonesia (22%).
