Today, Internet search history is one of the most visible indicators of public opinion, reflecting both our true wants and needs and the ways in which we consume information. Analysis of the last year’s usage of Petal Search, a search engine developed by the technology company Huawei, reveals 6 main trends that characterize user interests and changes in today’s globalized world.
- Travel and tourism are reborn
After a long period of lull and pandemic restrictions, a solid global recovery has reopened opportunities for safe travel. Longing for travel could be especially observed in the analysis of the use of the Petal Search search engine, where the number of travel-related searches increased significantly and visits to the “Travel” section of the app increased four times in 2022 compared to the previous year. Overall, users most frequently searched for information on accommodation (40%), followed by flights (30%) and information on city destinations (23%). - Online shopping does not lose its relevance
Relatively many buyers made their first purchases on the Internet only a couple of years ago, but now shopping on various Internet platforms has become an almost new reality. Despite the lifting of restrictions and a return to traditional in-person shopping, e-commerce’s rise to fame is far from over. From summer sales to Black Friday sales, consumers have been spending more time shopping online than in brick-and-mortar stores.
In the past year alone, the number of purchases made through Huawei’s search platform increased by 200%, with the most popular shopping categories being fashion, electronics, sports, beauty and active recreation, reflecting users’ desire to live healthier and more convenient lives by tailoring their shopping according to their schedule and location for the place – not the other way around. - Football fans are gripped by World Cup fever
The year 2022 ended with the start of the long-awaited World Cup season, which surprised viewers around the world with exciting moments and dramatic victories. To live with the dynamic twists and turns of the season, fans kept their finger on the pulse and followed the world cup news online using search engines to ensure a continuous flow of information.
Last year, almost a million Petal Search users searched for information about game statistics and results, football players, game news and videos of the hottest game moments.
- People want to know more
Compared to other years, last year there was a growing appetite for news, as evidenced by statistical data – more than half of Petal Search users in Europe read the news every day, spending an average of 10 minutes on this activity. The events of the last few years have aroused special interest in the society about current events in the world and also here in Latvia, encouraging people to use various search engines in order to always be the first to learn about the latest news. - One app for everything
Statistical data show that the most used online tools last year were dictionary, translator and weather reports. Instead of accessing the same information through, for example, separately downloadable phone apps, users preferred to look for answers to their questions in search engines that provide quick answers to everyday searched topics such as “will it rain tomorrow” or “what is the name of the bus stop” French”. - New search techniques
Thanks to new technologies and interactive features of smartphones, previously unheard of information search techniques are becoming popular, for example, in the past year, image search equipped with artificial intelligence quickly became popular among users. By taking photos of products with the smartphone camera and placing them in the search engine, users can easily access information about the specific product and recommendations to facilitate its use. This trend is also particularly noticeable in Petal Search, where the use of the visual search function increased by 20% in 2022 compared to 2021.
With the growing popularity of smart home devices, voice-controlled digital features and artificial intelligence assistants are also increasingly common in many households today. Also in smartphones, the voice command has become the norm among users and has even surpassed voice control in smart home devices in terms of usage. In 2022, the Petal Search app saw a 16% quarter-on-quarter increase in voice search usage, and this trend is likely to continue to grow in popularity in the coming years.
