Revealed: The 50 most searched for online retail outlets since the start of COVID-19

Home renovation items, food delivery, office supplies and exercise equipment were among the most searched for items during the first wave of coronavirus lockdowns, according to a recent report about online retail outlets in Australia from SEMrush.

The 50 most searched for online retail outlets were:

Bunnings Warehouse
Amazon Australia
Woolworths
Kmart
JB Hi-Fi
Big W
Coles
Microsoft
Harvey Norman
Officeworks
Target
Kogan
Catch
Chemist Warehouse
Myer
IKEA
The Good Guys
Supercheap Auto
The Iconic
Dan Murphy’s
EB Games
Spotlight
David Jones
Rebel
ASOS
Cotton On
BCF
Fantastic Furniture
Priceline
Booktopia
Best & Less
Mecca
Ozsale
City Beach
HP
Forever New
Adore Beauty
Bonds
SurfStitch
Sephora
Vistaprint
Jeanswest
Showpo
Nourished Life
Birdsnest
Marks & Spencer
Beserk
Naked Wines
GraysOnline
Anaconda

Home and garden retailer Bunnings recorded the highest website search traffic, according to data captured in June 2020 by analytics platform SEMrush. The DIY retailer’s traffic was up 74% year-on-year, with 5.7 million more visitors than second-placed Amazon Australia.

In the top 10 online retail outlets, there were five department stores, four retailers that specialise in electronic and office supplies, and one home and hardware retailer.

The Iconic, ASOS, Cotton On, Showpo and Birdsnest were among the clothing retailers to make the list of 50, while beauty retailers Mecca, Adore Beauty and Sephora also made the list.

“Department stores made up the majority of the top 50 retailers, [and] SEMrush’s data shows a clear trend in consumer preference towards at-home items with Bunnings, Spotlight and IKEA all experiencing significant spikes in website traffic during the past year,” said SEMrush head of global marketing Olga Andrienko.

During the second quarter of the year, there were a total of 633 million visits to department store websites, 413 million to electronics and office retailers, and 410 million to home and hardware retailers.

“People are investing more in their homes, be it from furniture and outdoor supplies for home improvements, or gadgets and tech to enhance lifestyle in lockdown and of course department stores. The data suggests people are looking for good quality products at affordable prices and they are spending their time online in a COVID-safe environment in order to do so,” said Andreinko.

“Changes in consumer preference is not only reflected in the website traffic, but also in the search volumes, with a significant reduction in searching for flights, especially with searches relating to cheaper flight websites such as Webjet, AirAsia and Jetstar,” she added.

The SEMRush data also showed a significant increase in searches for outdoor accessories and vehicles, including motorbikes, caravans and bikes, which reflected increased website traffic to the websites of retailers such as Bunnings, BCF and Rebel Sports.

Department Stores

From the report, SEMRush noted that consumers are gravitating towards the idea of a “one-stop-shop”:

In the past three months, site traffic for department stores was higher than any other sector, with more than 63.5 million visits — an increase of 58% year-on-year;
Department stores recorded a total of 633 million visits in the second quarter;
Amazon Australia saw an increase of 124% from June 2019 to June 2020; and
Kmart traffic was up 69% for the same period.

Electronics and office

Electronic retailers recorded a total of 413 million site visits during the second quarter, with JB Hi-Fi seeing its site visitors increasing by more than 43 million during the quarter, compared to the first quarter of the year.

Home and hardware

The home and hardware category has also been popular among Australian shoppers, with the category notching up 410 million visits in the second quarter of the year, across all retail outlets.

Taking out the top position in this category, and for the list overall, was Bunnings with a 75% spike in website traffic, compared to the year before. Meanwhile, Ikea more than doubled its site traffic compared to June 2019, according to SEMRush, which Spotlight saw its website traffic increase by 61%.

Health and beauty

Health and beauty retailers recorded 92 million site visits in the second quarter of 2020, according to the SEMRush data. This category includes the likes of Chemist Warehouse, which saw its website visits increase by 21 million since earlier in the year.

Alcohol

Alcohol retailer Dan Murphy’s took out the 20th position on the list, with search traffic to its website increasing by 76% year-on-year, while Naked Wines came in at number 48 on the list.

SEMRush said in a statement that alcohol retailers also increased their search advertising during the period, or started do so for the first time, including Dan Murphy’s, Boozebud, BWS, Hellodrinks and Tipple.

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