Covid-19: Search for 'food delivery services' up by 300%

With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing most people to stay at home, searches for "food delivery services" have grown globally by more than 300% year over year, according to internal data from Google.

Americans are watching videos related to recipes and cooking at a rate 31% higher than they did the same time last year.

Similarly, searches for "online pharmacy" have grown globally by more than 100% year over year, Google said on Monday, while sharing its insights with companies to help them adjust their media strategy.

The necessary measures taken to manage the pandemic have not only disrupted the global economy, but have also altered consumers' interests, expectations, and purchasing behaviour.

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"As of this week, there are over four billion people staying home worldwide. And while we don't know how or when this crisis will resolve, we do have new insight into how people's needs and behaviors are changing," the Google Ads Team wrote in a blog.

Search interest for "telecommuting" in the U.S. reached an all-time high on Google and YouTube in mid-March, and continues to grow with no sign of slowing down.

There is also growing search interest for "stationary bicycle" worldwide since the beginning of the year, especially in Spain and France, and "dumbbell set" in the UK, Google said.

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People are turning to online video for help in coping with anxiety and stress. So far in the US this year, views of meditation-related videos are 51% higher than the same period in 2019.

Parents and students are turning to YouTube to adapt to school closures and at-home education.

According to YouTube data, average daily views of videos with "homeschool" or "home school" in the title have increased more than 120 per cent globally since March 2020.

People are also searching for things to do when they are bored.

Searches for "bored" spiked significantly in March, and search interest for "games," "puzzles," and "colouring books" have increased since the beginning of the year, Google said.