VFM VS VFT - A STORY OF SEARCH
The dynamic nature of the world wide web has opened up a world of possibilities in unchartered territory while regenerating within the Internet of Things for marketers and consumers alike. While third party cookies are becoming a thing of the past, there are new opportunities sprouting up for advertisers in Google, Meta, Amazon and in the other giga giants looking to capitalise earliest in this survival of the fittest contest. Rebranding exercises are a common theme of our work here at Debunk.Agency®, and many times we are playing catch up as digital marketers with the fast paced changes coming to search, socials and client requirements.
While studying a Google Report for 2023, we came across their analysis of search within India in 2022-23. One of the key insights is the concept of Value. While people are searching for better deals on the Internet, and glass ceilings are being slowly cracked open through mass access to information online, there was one interesting comparison that caught our attention. "Cheap Flights" vs "Best Restaurants"
Two polarising trends in 2023 in India in search gives us great insight into the mind of the Indian consumer. On the one hand we have aspirational values, looking for value for money deals to trade higher on the socioeconomic cards with a 60% rise in searches (YoY) for cheap flights. It's no secret that the travel bug caught the world by storm, with influencers leading the movement in the pre and post Covid era. People from all economic strata are looking to gain experiences for the cheapest price on the one hand, while shelling out more for local experiences as well.
"Best Restaurants" searches were equally part of search that made it into the Google Report.
While some meals can rival the price of "cheap flights" the data clearly shows that value for time spent on oneself, one's family and friends locally matters just as much. Valuing one's time is a metric we believe the Google missed out on bringing to attention. Soaring search volumes for luxury goods with a 170% YoY increase in searches for "limited edition shoes" and 60% YoY increase in searches for "luxury perfumes" brings to light that how one spends time searching online is a reflection of non digital reality, in an art imitates life parallel. People willing to shell out for one of a kind experiences is a great indicator of Value for Time going up, while Value for Money metrics continue to rise in aspirational quadrants of search, spend, promotion and products.
Finally, with the advent of Display & Video 360 entering a non-third-party-cookie digital world, and Google Analytics 4 bringing the focus on the engagement, a lot is left on the digital playground for marketers to consider meaningful strategies going forward. Once we have all mastered these new trends in cyber reality, we can only hope that improvements in end user experiences grow just as meaningfully along with the metrics that help us as marketers get the best product to you. This article is written by Thejas Anand on 28 April, 2023. Thejas is the Creative Director and Founder of Debunk.Agency®, a Digital Marketer, aspiring Growth Hacker and Guerilla marketing enthusiast. He has 6+ Years of Experience. You can connect with him on LinkedIn by Clicking Here.