The number of retail searches made on Google during the Black Friday shopping event overtook those conducted on Boxing Day for the first time last year, new figures from the British Retail Consortium have found.

Total UK retail search volumes grew three per cent across all devices in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with the same quarter a year ago. The North and Yorkshire saw the highest share of UK retail searches at 26 per cent, with Greater London in second place with 23 per cent.

Home and garden searches registered the highest year-on-year increase for UK smartphone users, with growth of 27 per cent in Q4 2017, while overseas searches for UK brands grew by 19 per cent in the same quarter.

Italy demonstrated the strongest year-on-year rise in searches for UK brands from the EU, reporting 30 per cent growth in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “The final quarter of 2017 saw modest growth in the volume of online search activity for retail products, which was driven predominantly by mobile searches once again. It was the weakest quarter for growth last year, but that reflects the fact that shoppers are increasingly accessing retailers’ websites via social networks and e-mail marketing, rather than using search engines.

“Indeed, over Black Friday, a number of retailers noted that their e-mail campaigns were particularly successful in attracting shoppers to their websites. This only serves to illustrate the importance for retailers of making the most of all their channels for communicating with shoppers.

Martijn Bertisen, retail director at Google, added: “Mobile continues to be the largest growth driver across the retail business, with strongest growth in fashion, beauty and home. The Black Friday period is getting longer and, instead of staying up late to research the best deals, consumers are using their phones more than ever to research deals during morning commute times on Black Friday and at store opening times on Boxing Day.”

Share Story: