Indians searched more on immunity, e-learning during pandemic: Report

There has been a massive increase in searches related to physical fitness, financial investments, entertainment, e-learning searches in the last one year as people continued to shelter at place and work from home due to the ongoing Covid pandemic, revealed a report on Monday.

The InMobi report, titled Search in India-2021 Trends Report, showcased insights on the shift in netizens' online behaviour and their search preferences from the data analysed between April 2020 and June 2021.

During this period, there was a 125 per cent increase in immunity related searches, while home-fitness related searches like online dance and home gym saw 28 times and 14 times increase respectively.

Investment preference shifted from physical assets to financial instruments in the past year and an increased preference for using digital channels was seen. Asset management-related searches increased by 13 times while those related to digital payments continued to grow at 12 per cent.

"In the last few years, digital content consumption has increased manifold. The pandemic has further accelerated digital adoption with people spending significant time on their PC, phones, and tablet screens. These behavioural changes have opened up newer avenues for search advertising and it will perhaps be one of the most effective mediums for brands to reach out to the right audience," said Rohit Dosi, Director, Microsoft Advertising at InMobi, in a statement.

Further, staying at home led to a spike in the demand for hyperlocal delivery services. Searches related to cake delivery soared 15 times as people celebrated more at home.

With theatres shut, concerts suspended, and people working remotely from their homes, there has also been a massive increase in search volume for entertainment and music content.

The keyword 'most popular Netflix series' was searched 28 times more, while 'cricket live score' witnessed 381 times increase. Online games related searches saw a 52 per cent rise.

In addition, searches for education and e-learning related content also saw a massive spike. There has been a 367 per cent increase in searches related to 'learning online', while a 103 per cent increase in those related to 'training'.

"The massive shift in an individual's online browsing and searching pattern has paved the way for brands looking to invest in search advertising. There has been a steady growth of search as a digital medium across PC and Mobile in India with approximately 25 per cent of digital media spends accounting for search advertising. While some brands have already started leveraging this medium to achieve their larger business goals, others can leverage search advertising to create a smarter customer journey to reach the right audience, with the right message," Dosi said.