This Valentine's Day, It's the Thought that Matters

In my earlier Valentine's Day post, I blogged about where and when Valentine's Day shoppers are looking. As we get closer to the day, we are seeing trends in users' searches that can help us think and make not only personal shopping decisions, but marketing or merchandising decisions as retailers. Typical Valentine's Day surveys provide insight into the categories of products consumers plan to purchase -- candy, flowers, clothing -- but if you are flying blindly into the gifts sphere as I often find myself, you might appreciate more guidance on what actual products to buy in each category. Or what actual products to stock and advertise.

Just as you can see specific image search queries and news search queries on Google Insights for Search, you can now also see specific Product Search queries when consumers are "searching for stuff to buy." Recent rising searches show that popular items include pandora jewelry, Timex I-Control watches, various e-book readers, and various smartphone models.

[1] Google Insights for Search, US product search in October & November 2009. 'Flowers, Gifts & Greetings' data based on US product search in January & February 2009.

Posted by Julia Tang, the Google Retail Team