Consumer Searches for White Goods Show Signs of Being Static

LONDON, April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

UK online searches for cooking, refrigeration, and dishwasher and laundry products seem to have remained static going by the latest quarterly research from leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight. It reveals online queries for white goods products totalled 1 million in February, showing little rise on November 2011's 957,000 and those of August 2011 which also stood at 1 million.

However, with market intelligence provider Key Note, predicting the UK white goods market will reach a value of £3.81 billion by 2015, retailers should be looking to make the most of online channels, in tandem with those offline, so as to drive traffic to their sites and be in with a chance of capturing a slice of the predicted revenues.

Greenlight's research 'White Goods Sector Report - Issue 12' profiled UK search behaviour in the white goods sector. This it did via analysis of online search-related data sourced from Hydra's One Platform, a leading provider of SaaS tools for digital marketers.

Key findings pretty much mirrored those of its November 2011 report and showed:

• The search term 'washing machines' was queried 49,500 times, accounting for 5% of all searches made for the sector.

• Searches for dishwasher and laundry products accounted for over one third (38%) of all searches made for white goods online. Refrigeration products accounted for 34%.

• Searches pertaining to cooking appliances totalled 290,483 and accounted for the smallest share of white goods-related queries, 28%.

• In February, Comet was the most visible website in the natural search listings, achieving a 71% share of voice.

• Appliances Online was the most visible advertiser, achieving a 73% share of visibility in the paid media space.

• Appliances Online ranked at the top Greenlight's integrated league table, charting the most visible websites for white goods, as it attained sizable visibility in both the natural search listings and paid media space.

• According to Greenlight's Social Media analysis, Amazon UK was the most visible brand, achieving a Klout score of 69.

According to Key Note, a major influence in the white goods market is awareness concerning the environment. This combined with spiralling energy costs is fuelling consumer demand for energy-efficient products.  In addition, some white goods, which were previously considered luxuries, have also impacted the market as they are now considered standard home appliances.

However, Key Note predicts that between 2011 and 2015, the UK white goods market will increase by 7.3% with cooking appliances experiencing the greatest growth - 8.6% over the period, as a result of growing consumer interest in home cooking and concerns over healthy eating.

About Greenlight:

Greenlight is a leading independent digital marketing agency, the largest of its kind in Europe and the fastest growing. With over 100 blue-chip clients including Santander, New Look, Sky and ghd, Greenlight is a leader in the digital marketing space, and is recognized worldwide for its commitment to delivering record ROI for its clients and investing in the future.

Greenlight is considered the premier thought leader in the sector, publishing widely read industry reports, original research, speaking at trade events, and delivering a highly respected digital marketing training programme via the Greenlight Academy. Founded in 2001, Greenlight is headquartered in London, with offices in New York. http://www.greenlightdigital.com