Google research released this month has shown consumers driven by ‘have to have it’ impulses are being savvy with their purchases searching for ‘like’ products instead of blowing their budget.
Sara Kleinberg, Head of Ads Research and Insights at Google says today’s research obsessed consumers aren’t letting price get in the way of the aspirations.
“They realise they have the tools to find something similar to that aspirational product, but that’s more practical for them.
“We’re seeing this come to life in how people search. People are comparison shopping by searching for alternatives that make their aspirations accessible and that they can feel good about.”
Google’s research reveals mobile searches for ‘that looks like’ grew by over 60 per cent in the past two years as did searches for ‘similar to’. For example, “shirts similar to untuckit,” “coolers similar to yeti,” and “cars similar to jeep wrangler.”
Mobile searches for ‘under $’ have also grown by 175 per cent meaning consumers are eager to shop for what they can afford.
Users are also searching for alternatives to brand name products with Google searches for ‘brands like’ and ‘stores like’ growing by 60 per cent.
Kleinberg suggests brand concerned about competing on price should also highlight product features and enable product comparisons in a way that benefits their brand. Whilst the tech savvy could optimise their content so it appears in these searches.
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