The first UK lockdown, in March 2020 saw a significant change in consumer behaviour. With offline shopping no longer a possibility, so consumers turned online to find what they needed. In this article, we look at how the lockdown impacted search behaviour and what we can learn for future restrictions.
TLDR – On March 25th search volume for many products went through the roof. From dumbbells to dog food, we saw a massive spike in searches for products and home delivery. (This was counterbalanced by a collapse in search volume for new travel requests and other location-based searches.) Brands that were on page 1 of Google saw unprecedented demand without the need for increased ad spend. Brands not in the listings lost out. With talk of another lockdown, should brands be optimising for another spike?
