IN THE CURRENT FRAUGHT economy companies are scrambling for insights into buying behaviours and other trends shaping the market in the hopes of adjusting their businesses or even benefiting from particular dynamics of the downturn. Google houses a plethora of data on what people are searching for online and doing using the Internet, which it provides via its Trends and Insights tools. Diving into those is like putting a finger on the pulse of the market and reveals some interesting results.<\/p>\n
Mohammad Gawdat, MD of emerging markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa, says: We think the first crunch isn’t going to play out in most of our emerging markets. There’s very small exposure here in South Africa. But the aftermath of the credit crunch will be interesting, with shrinking GDPs and currency devaluation. Some economies will be hit – not because the economies themselves are in bad shape but because of the multinational knock-on.<\/p>\n
“But if people look at the details of the downturn instead of just the big panic signs companies can find opportunities – and we believe online is one of those. Of course, that sounds clich\u00e9d coming from someone who works at an online company. However, we believe online will continue to grow and provide opportunities to businesses who are more online.<\/p>\n
“The examples are everywhere. Online retailer Amazon says it had its best Christmas ever in 2008, while Marks & Spencer (Britain) had to close down its retail stores. Online companies are showing a significant advantage over offline. When we look at trends for what people are looking for online we see they’re increasingly moving to online shopping, with a 37% increase in product-related searches in Britain.”<\/p>\n
In SA, search trends show a drop off in property-related search that corresponds to that market’s decline. But searches for banks are increasing: Other trends are waiting to be discovered online at http:\/\/www.google.com\/trends<\/a> and www.google.com\/insights\/search<\/a>.<\/p>\n