Christmas is coming! One of the most significant commercial events of the year, the festive season sees a dramatic shift in shopping habits and of course, what Brits will be searching for online.
Typically, you can expect to see searches that focus on the likes of everything from decor to gift ideas, holidays to food shopping, but what unexpected items are Brits searching for this time of year? We took to Google Trends to see what products are popular around Christmas based on consumer search trends from the last 12 months.
Interest numbers represent search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time. A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular. We’ve taken the highest peaks for search terms in 2022 to work out the average peak popularity for these search terms around the festive period.
So what can we expect to see in Brtitans search history this season?
Gaviscon
The search term for indigestion consistently spikes towards the end of December. With a hearty few weeks of gorging on Christmas dinner and snacking on chocolates, it’s no surprise that Brits are Googling indigestion. The search term ‘gaviscon’ averaged a search interest of 100 in December 2022. An uplift of 54% from its search lowest volume in July. This year as we grow closer to Christmas we can already see interest re-spiking with the term averaging a volume of 92 at the end of October. Interestingly the search term ‘indigestion remedy’ garnered an interest of 100 between the 18th and 24th December 2022, with an estimated 13,200 visits to the NHS website’s heartburn advice page during Christmas Day and Boxing Day – equivalent to one view every 13 seconds.
Extension Cord
With a search interest of 100 last year, ‘extension cords’ look to be quite the essential for Brits over Christmas. From indoor to outdoor, extension cords are a must for Brits who are looking to create a show-stopping light display. According to EDF Energy, in the UK we use almost £66 million of electricity on Christmas day alone – that's 402Gwhs of electricity, or to put it another way, enough electricity to light the Eiffel Tower for 50 years! This time in November last year, the term was sitting at 30, this year it’s already spiked to 78, an increase of over 160% year on year!
Butter Knife
The humble butter knife sees a huge spike over the festive season gathering an average search interest of 78 in 2022, just before Christmas Day! Whether it’s to make enjoying cheese and crackers easier or you’re looking for a set to host with, it seems butter knives are on a few Brits’ shopping lists this time of year. In October this year, the search term has already seen spikes of over 80, an uplift of 11.5%.
Sequin Dress
Between the 27th of November and the 3rd of December last year, the term ‘sequin dress’ spiked as high as 100 but with lows of 25 back in 2020 during lockdown. With Christmas parties on the horizon, it looks like Brits will be looking to make a sparkling statement again this year. November 2023 alone has already seen a 7% increase year on year with no signs of slowing down.
Napkins
‘Napkins’ peaked at 100 on the run-up to Christmas Day in 2022! From messy dinners to running out of plates for the Christmas pudding, it looks like Brits are big napkin buyers on the run-up to Christmas. Data also reveals that paper plates also rose in popularity over the festive season with an average search interest of 63 in December last year, and is closely joined by plastic cutlery at 65. It seems that Brits are not interested in doing the washing up this winter and are happy to opt for disposable options instead.
Doormat
We often look to spruce up our homes on the run-up to Christmas, but it seems that one strange product peaks in popularity, doomats. Peaking 100 not once but twice during Christmas 2022 and already claiming to spot in November 2023, it looks like Brits will be looking to purchase a new doormat to make a statement when welcoming guests and keeping the dirt out this festive season. A survey by Hayes Garden World found that Brits spend an estimated £185 on Christmas decorations over the whole year, that could be one expensive doormat!
Bottle Opener
With a search interest of 100 in December 2022, ‘bottle openers’ are a high priority for Brits at Christmas. Hitting 54 in October, the term bottle openers are on their way up again this year. Almost two-thirds (61%) of drinkers in the UK over-indulge with alcohol over the festive season, so it’s no surprise that bottle openers are a necessity.
Batteries
Peaking 100 at the start of December 2022, ‘batteries’ are hugely important to Brits, already hitting search volumes of 78 this year alone. Whether it’s battery-operated lights or to power the kid’s toys, battery sales soar at Christmas with the average UK household buying around 30 batteries.
Blu Tack
With an 83 search interest in November 2022, ‘Blu Tack’ the reusable putty-like pressure-sensitive adhesive, is a necessity for Brits. Already reaching highs of 79 this year, it looks like Blu Tack will be on Brit’s shopping list again this year. Whether they’re crafting, putting up cards or hanging bunting, Blu Tack seems to be something most of us reach and search for over the festive period.
Fitted Sheet
The search term ‘fitted sheet’ ranked a whopping 100 at Christmas last year with the term already hitting 89 in October 2023, an uplift of 24% year on year. Whether you’ve got guests staying, or need something new to go with a set of seasonal bedding, fitted sheets are a shopping must.
Do you search for anything strange? Are you going to be buying any of the above this Christmas? Let us know your thoughts on social media by using #instantprintuk!
Sources and Methodology
• Survey of 1,000 Brits
• Using data from Google Trends, we looked at the highest search volume for the given term in the lead-up to December in previous years. Data correct as of 08.12.2023.
