Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ: CRTO), the performance marketing technology company, has today revealed the UK’s top 1,000 most searched for terms. Analysis of over 100 million online searches across Criteo’s UK Sponsored Products network between 1st April and 26th June 2017 shows a clear shift in online consumer shopping habits when it comes to fresh groceries.
Quarter-to-quarter, online searches for groceries have increased by 108% (2.7 million between January to March to 5.7 million between April and June*) and now represent 12 of the top 50 most popular search terms. With shoppers now able to rely on supermarkets and other suppliers for faster, more accurate delivery options, online fresh produce shopping is more convenient than ever before. As a result, searches for milk, bread, cheese and eggs all increased in the second quarter of the year with those must-have items now comprising 20% of the top ten most searched-for terms.
The eGrocery revolution has seen everyday staples such as milk and bread amass almost 1.5 million ecommerce searches with leading UK retailers while online searches for ‘milk’ alone increased by 92% from the first three months of the year. As the online grocery shopping category grows, the data also reflects the maturity of the market with shoppers opting to use search more familiar search functionality over general browsing.
“Grocery shopping is reaching digital maturity at an incredible rate,” commented Ben Cooper, Managing Director, Europe, Criteo Sponsored Product. “The speed at which shoppers are using search as a discovery tool for their online grocery shopping is quickly starting to reflect more established retail segments. This means that retailers and marketers must adapt the ways in which they’re engaging these customers. Milk and bread will always be common purchases but the increase in searches online for these items points to a clear shift as online convenience starts to rival that of offline supermarket shopping.”
In the UK today, 40% of all online grocery purchases are made on mobile phones and overall, 7% of all grocery shopping is now done online. These findings from Criteo’s UK FMCG Deep Dive – Taking Stock of the Future of Grocery report attest to the growing eGrocery market in the UK.
The UK’s top search terms also reveal:
- Britain has clearly been readying itself for a summer snap with ‘BBQ’ the most searched-for term between April and June
- Other frequently searched-for summer items include; the ‘maxi dress’ (#8), ‘paddling pool’ (#10), ‘sandals’ (#14), and ‘gazebo’ (#21)
- ‘Washing machine’ was the most searched for term to date between January and March 2017 but has slipped to #19 in the list as the minds of the nation switch from home improvements and renovation to the impending sunshine and their regular food shops
- Popular children’s program ‘Paw Patrol’ was top dog as the most searched-for term with over 900,000 inquiries. ‘Nike trainers’ (#30) and ‘Peppa Pig’ (#44) were the other notable brands to feature in the top 100
As the eGrocery sector continues to grow, FMCG marketers need to ensure they maximize the online experience in order to motivate consumers to buy. The traditional flow of store aisles and careful product placements are now disrupted as consumers take their grocery shopping online. Therefore smart retailers will need to rethink product categorization to ensure their items stay top of mind for customers when filling up their online baskets.
The data has been taken from 118 million online searches across Criteo’s Sponsored Products UK network between 1st April and 26thJune 2017. This latest set of data will offer deeper insight into consumer shopping behavior, particularly for retailers in the eGrocery market. To find out more FMCG trends and eGrocery opportunities, view the report here.
Source: Criteo Sponsored Products UK network data, 1/4/17-26/06/17
*as a representation of the top 50 search terms
About Criteo
Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO) delivers personalized performance marketing at an extensive scale. Measuring return on post-click sales, Criteo makes ROI transparent and easy to measure. Criteo has over 2,500 employees in more than 30 offices across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific, serving over 15,000 advertisers worldwide and with direct relationships with thousands of publishers.
For more information, please visit www.criteo.com.
