All device grocery search volumes grew 17% in the second quarter of 2015 compared with the same quarter a year earlier. This is down on the 22% growth seen in 2014, according to the BRC-Google Online Retail Monitor for Q2 2015.
Grocery search volumes on smartphones outpaced those on tablets, with growth of 44% compared with growth on tablets of just 9%.
| Top 10 Grocery Terms: Q2 2015 | |
| Smartphone | Tablets |
| chocolate cake recipe | chocolate cake recipe |
| bbq | banana bread |
| quinoa | cake recipes |
| prosecco | carrot cake recipe |
| cake recipes | chocolate brownies |
| banana bread | cheesecake recipe |
| cheesecake recipe | cupcakes |
| yorkshire pudding | quinoa |
| protein shakes | carrot cake |
| brownie recipe | yorkshire pudding |
Helen Dickinson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said: “As these figures show, customers continue to turn to their tablets and smartphones for help with their weekly shops. Whether its recipe ideas or checking out who stocks the latest must-have food item, more and more of us are researching our grocery purchases online.
“While it’s true that the increases in grocery search volumes slowed down from last year, they remain high. This is to be expected as the structural changes within the industry begin to bed in and an increasing number of consumers become comfortable including online searches in their shopping process. Long term we would expect search volumes to continue to increase as digital technology becomes a bigger part of the retail experience.
“It’s interesting to note that some of the top searches are in the health food categories with quinoa and protein shakes featuring highly in smartphones searches. These foods have become increasingly fashionable over the past year and retailers will be capitalising on the interest in these products by offering great deals on them both in store and online.”
Peter Fitzgerald, retail director, Google, said: As consumers become more comfortable shopping and searching from their mobiles, we have seen significant growth from smartphone devices in this category. In London alone we have seen a 61% increase in searches from mobile phones since last year – a trend we have observed across all regions in the UK.
“Looking at smartphone searches, consumers are more likely to search for healthy recipes such as protein shakes and smoothie recipes whilst on-the-go or in their kitchens away from their laptops. Healthy living continues to be important for consumers, with significant growth in the weight-loss and nutrition bars category and increasing searches for health foods like quinoa. However, shoppers are still going bananas for baking, with chocolate cakes, banana breads and carrot cakes the most popular searches in this category.”
Grocery Search Volume monthly Breakdown
| Month | Second Quarter 2015
Year-on-Year % change |
||
| Smartphone Search Volumes | Tablet Search Volumes | All Devices Search Volumes | |
| April | 42% | 7% | 14% |
| May | 45% | 11% | 17% |
| June | 47% | 10% | 20% |
- All Device grocery search volumes growth was 17% in the second quarter of the year. Search volume growth built throughout the quarter, with June posting the highest growth rate at 20%.
- Search volumes on Tablets were highest in May 2015, up 11%.
- Growth of grocery search volumes on smartphone devices outpaced those on tablets in every month of the quarter. June posted the strongest growth, up 47% compared with 10% on tablets.
Top trending sub categories searches
| Categories | Second Quarter 2015
Year-on-Year % change |
||
| Smartphone Search Volumes | Tablet Search Volumes | All Device Search Volumes | |
| Organic & Natural Foods | 73% | 21% | 28% |
| Weight-Loss Foods & Nutrition Bars | 59% | 17% | 53% |
| Asian Cuisine | 56% | 10% | 26% |
| BBQs & Grills | 55% | 12% | 22% |
| Liquor | 52% | 15% | 24% |
| Latin American Cuisine | 52% | 11% | 21% |
| Dairy & Non-Dairy Alternatives | 50% | 16% | 21% |
| Indian Cuisine | 49% | 11% | 23% |
| Fish & Seafood | 48% | 16% | 20% |
| Household Supplies | 48% | 17% | 20% |
| Wine | 48% | 7% | 17% |
| Sports Drinks | 47% | 6% | 14% |
| Italian Cuisine | 43% | 9% | 19% |
| Meat & Poultry | 43% | 12% | 18% |
| Spanish Cuisine | 43% | 11% | 16% |
- The growth rate of smartphone searches for Organic & Natural Foods was significantly above all other grocery categories for Q2 2015
- Total grocery search volumes growth across all devices was highest for Weight-Loss Foods & Nutrition Bars (53%), Organic & Natural Foods (28%) and Asian Cuisine (26%)
- On tablets growth was lowest for Sports Drinks (6%) Wine (7%) and Italian Cuisine (9%)
