A boom in smartphone use has seen online searches for grocery products soar by nearly a third compared to last year.
Figures released by the BRC and Google show grocery search volumes across all devices rose 11% in Q3 2016, compared with a year earlier.
Smartphones were the key driver for grocery searches in the period, however, with search volumes up 29% compared with the year before.
The meat and poultry sector saw the biggest boost, with searches on smartphones up 43% year on year on smartphones and 23% across all devices.
The BRC said the rapid rise in smartphones combined with good weather had led to the increases in traffic.
“Holidays, summer sun and sporting success put consumers in the mood for eating and drinking,” said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.
“There were no surprises that barbecues and meat and poultry were the most popular categories searched for on smartphones over the summer months, although Prosecco and coconut oil proved to be the most popular search terms. This quarter also underlined the rapid rise of smartphones as the device of choice for online searching, being a popular choice for consumers searching for all things food and drink.”
Google retail director Martin Bertisen said: “Again, we’re seeing a steady growth in the food and groceries category driven by smartphone penetration. With almost everyone carrying a supercomputer in their pocket, we can see an even distribution of searches from mobile across the UK. This means the industry can tap into a more immediate and rich dataset of intention and adjust their mobile strategies to respond to an ever-connected consumer.”
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