As the country witnesses lockdown and Indians search for favourite street food and other recipes to satisfy their cravings, Google India saw 107 per cent increase in searches for 'panipuri' recipe and ayurvedic home remedies like 'kadha' (medicinal decoction) saw more than 90 per cent rise after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to drink it to boost the immune system. With the closure of restaurants, clubs and food stalls, there has been a 56 per cent growth in searches for '5-minute recipes' on the Internet. The Google India report showed that overall recipe-related searches grew by 20 per cent on YouTube in the past few months.
The data revealed that searches for vitamin C surged by over 150 per cent in recent weeks, as have queries for herbs with medicinal properties like 'Giloy' (380 per cent) and searches on ayurvedic home remedies like 'Kadha' saw more than 90 per cent rise.
With social distancing becoming the norm and cash transactions taking a backseat, searches for queries like "how to pay electric bill online" grew over 180 per cent.
Interestingly, "near me" searches have seen a massive uptick since March 2020.
Queries like "pharmacy near me" saw over 58 per cent rise, searching for "grocery delivery near me" increased over 550 per cent and "ration dukaan" over 300 per cent.
"The report provides early insights on how people's needs and behaviours might evolve as they seek to regain a sense of balance. Some of the trends are likely temporary, but as people are forced to adopt new behaviors, they may begin to see the value of sticking with them even after the pandemic is over," said Sapna Chadha, Senior Country Marketing Director, Google India and Southeast Asia at Google.
One can clearly see a pattern that demonstrates an evolution in behaviour that was already taking place and is accelerated by the crisis.
"We hope these insights will help marketers find the answers to what's important here now and what is here to stay," she added.
According to the report, Google saw more than 93 per cent increase in questions like "gym at home" in India.
There has also been high growth in queries like "learn online" over 85 per cent, "teach online" over (148 per cent), and "at-home learning" (78 per cent).
There is a growing curiosity about cashless transactions and mobile payments in India.
As a result, searches like "QR code payment" increased over 66 per cent and "how to change UPI pin" increased by over 200 per cent.
Indians are using the latest in streaming and video conferencing technology to consult with doctors and therapists, go on online dates, and host virtual streaming parties.
In 2020, search interest for overall video streaming platforms surged between 40 per cent to 120 per cent as Indians clocked almost four hours per week per person on video on demand, the report said.
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