Online grocery searches have seen a significant jump as people’s restriction of movement continues as a measure to slow down the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak in the UAE.

According to digital marketing platform SEMrush analytics, searches related to ‘online grocery’ in the UAE rose to a massive 560 per cent between January 2020 and March 2020 as people continue to practice social distancing measures and stay at home. According to the statistics, ‘online pharmacies’ and ‘pharmacy delivery’ searches jumped 238 per cent and 184 per cent respectively.

The other segment that saw steady increases in search volume was the delivery aggregators, despite an ongoing campaign encouraging residents to shop direct. Zomato saw a 55 per cent rise in search volume, while Uber Eats saw a 96 per cent increase in search volume.

According to the analytics, searches for fast food sites also saw an increase with 33 per cent in search volumes. The most searched for sites included Dominos (40 per cent) and Subway with (61 per cent)

Olga Andrienko, Head of Global Marketing at SEMrush, said, “UAE web traffic analysis indicates a trend of consumers by pass aggregators to order food deliveries direct. It would be worthwhile for regional businesses to continuously monitor online search and traffic data to assess online trends in any sector.”

She added, “The COVID-19 outbreak has affected people around the world; it has also affected behavioural patterns in daily routines globally, causing ripple effects that have temporarily changed the global economy.”