Searches zoom for ration dukaan, how to homeschool kids amid COVID-19

New Delhi, May 1

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People turned to Google to search for ration dukaan (grocery store), how to homeschool kids and even, best trading platforms—with these terms seeing a huge spike in the January-March—as people seek ideas on how they can stay productive indoors amid the coronavirus outbreak.

According to data released by Google, “near me” searches have seen a massive uptick, especially queries like “pharmacy near me” (58 per cent rise), “grocery delivery near me” (550 per cent) and “ration dukaan” (300 per cent).

It added that unlike 2019 when queries like ‘best headset’ or best mattress’ were popular, 2020 was all about ‘best movies’ (35 per cent rise) and ‘best trading platforms’ (45 per cent jump).

With a majority of users being homebound, there has also been high growth in queries like ‘learn online’, ‘teach online, and ‘at-home learning’.

In fact, 1 out of every 2 consumers is seeking personalised information from brands by searching for queries like ‘how to homeschool kids’ and ‘how to WFH’ (work from home), the data showed.

Interestingly, queries in the health category have recently pivoted toward ‘immunity’ (500 per cent rise). Searches for vitamin C, which grew by 40 per cent in 2019, have surged by over 150 per cent in recent weeks, as have queries for herbs with medicinal properties like giloy (380 per cent rise) and Ayurvedic home remedies like Kadha (90 per cent rise).

People are also searching for terms like ‘how to pay electric bill online” (180 per cent rise), ‘electricity bill check’ (80 per cent rise), ‘overnight mutual funds’ (411 per cent rise) and ‘mutual funds to invest now’ (249 per cent rise), showing consumers are now relying on online resources to take care of their long- and short-term financial goals.

“As people are jolted out of their routines and forced to re-evaluate decisions that previously required little to no thought, we see dramatic shifts in how people search and what they care about. The report provides early insights on how people’s needs and behaviours might evolve as they seek to regain a sense of balance,” Sapna Chadha, Senior Country Marketing Director, Google India and Southeast Asia at Google said.

She added that while some of these trends are likely to be temporary, they may begin to see the value of sticking with them even after the pandemic is over as people are forced to adopt new behaviours. PTI