Homeware items account for quarter of ecommerce searches in UK

In the United Kingdom, homeware items, such as toasters and table lamps, account for a quarter of all online retail searches this year. Furniture is also very popular, as about one in five searches is for products belonging to this category.

The top online retail searches in the UK this year was recently revealed by Criteo, which looked at search term popularity across the Criteo Sponsored Products network of top UK ecommerce websites. And with 52 percent of ecommerce transactions in the UK now taking place on a smartphone, Criteo thinks the new data highlights the omnichannel nature of shopping day.

The study has shown that ‘washing machine’ was the most searched for term to date, while homeware items account for a quarter of all searches this year. ‘Toasters’ (fifth place), ‘Table lamps’ (10) and Cookers (14) are the most popular terms in this product category. Another popular product category is furniture, which represents 19 of the most-searched terms, especially search queries for desks (3), single beds (3) and tables (4) are popular.

As some shoppers are slowly starting to purchase perishable items online instead of in-store, searches for fresh and chilled grocery search terms are becoming increasingly popular. ‘Milk’ (12) and ‘Bread’ (15) are two of the most popular search terms.

‘How we research and shop has fundamentally changed’

“The way that people research, shop and buy products has fundamentally changed. As shoppers move back and forth from devices and online to offline shopping, holistic marketing is no longer a nice to have but represents a genuine marketing priority”, says Jonathan Opdyke from Criteo. “The 2017 search data is a testament to those changing behaviors. Items that we would once simply pop to the shops for, such as milk and bread, have become prevalent within peoples’ online searches, while bigger ticket items that we would typically want to touch and try are also making an appearance.”

The top ten most searched terms in 2017:

01. Washing machine
02. Desk
03. Single beds
04. Table
05. Toaster
06. Fridge freezer
07. Fancy dress
08. Boots
09. Phones
10. Table lamps