Outdoor swimming pools and exercise equipment are among the items that majority of Filipinos search during the duration of the quarantine, according to a study of a marketing agency.
The national government imposed the enhanced community quarantine over Luzon from March 17 to April 30 to limit the public movement and contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic in the country.
It was supposed to end last April 12. However, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the extension of it to help the government ramp up its relief efforts to the thousands of Filipinos affected by the large-scale directive.
South East Asia-based meta-search website iPrice Group analyzed data in searches by comparing the impressions recorded from March 13 to March 30, 2020 and that from November 13 to November 30, 2019.
The marketing firm collected thousands of product pages of more than 100
online merchants through its website on Google Analytics.
Within this period, children’s outdoor pools interestingly became popular among local consumers with an increase of about 518% in impressions.
“Thousands of Filipinos may be interested to look for alternative ways to keep their kids active and under the sun during the quarantine,” the agency said.
There’s also an increase in interest in bicycles and gym dumbbells, both used for physical fitness activities. Impressions on bicycles increased by about 97% while impressions on gym dumbbells went up by 80% since the start of the lockdown.
Such findings coincide with a BBC report indicating that the sales of bicycles and exercise gear in the United Kingdom also increased around this period.
Filipinos, in particular, might also be interested in bicycles as a mode of transportation since the quarantine measure suspended all forms of mass transportation in Luzon.
Last month, concerned Filipino bikers lent bicycles to Filipinos working in health care, security, food and other industries deemed necessary under the task force guidelines.
COVID-19 essentials
The data group said that overall, the top most searched items by Filipinos are:
- Hand sanitizers (2,207%)
- Thermometers (1,295%)
- Cleaning product brand Domex (1,097%)
- Hand soaps (989%)
- Cleaning product brand Lysol (721%)
There was also a surge in demand in face masks by 100% and vitamins by 123% during this period.
All of these are essential products that help prevent individuals from contracting COVID-19.
Aside from social distancing, several health organizations advised the public to disinfect, wash hands and boost their immune system to avoid getting infected by the viral disease.
Prior to the pandemic, these items were not usually searched online as it is now, iPrice noted.
“For instance, there was no interest in buying medical face masks in the iPrice platform before COVID-19, aside from the time when Taal volcano erupted which caused heavy ashfall. Hence, it comes to no surprise that medical face masks’ impressions immensely grew from 0% in November to 100% in March,” the agency said.
Other interesting finds
Wi-fi adapters and LAN Cables, and grocery supplies were also widely searched, even more than surgical face masks and vitamins.
“Internet at home is no longer just a luxury, but a necessity these days. Therefore, Filipinos are looking for ways to make their Internet connections faster, reachable, and more stable,” iPrice said.
According to the study, the most searched food brands are Delimondo, Purefoods, 555, and Century Tuna. Canned goods and biscuits grew impressions by 412% and 310%, respectively.
Cleaning products of Ariel, Clorox, Tide also became popular online as Filipinos took extra-precautionary measures to disinfect surfaces, goods and clothes.
