Brands should be ready to engage with a wave of new parents and singletons this Christmas and beyond, as the consequences of the spring and November lockdowns come to light.
That’s according to new insights released by eBay Ads UK, which reveal how interest in pregnancy and break-up related products in the first lockdown could signal more opportunities for brands in the weeks to come.
As the reality of the first lockdown set in, searches for “break up” on ebay.co.uk surged 47 per cent in the week of 29 March 2020, compared to the previous week. In the same week, ebay.co.uk also saw an increase in interest for post-break up necessities, including “self-help” and “chocolate”, with searches rising 55 per cent and 95 per cent respectively.
But it wasn’t only at the start of lockdown that relationships ruptured. The new insights also indicate that more couples parted ways – or even divorced – later in lockdown, meaning brands could expect to see another wave of breakups over the next few weeks. Over the course of May 2020 searches for “divorce” more than doubled (rising 114 per cent), compared to the previous month.
Meanwhile, peak ‘break up week’ occurred in the fifth week of the spring lockdown: during the week of 26 April 2020, searches for “divorce” on ebay.co.uk shot up 80 per cent compared to the week before, while searches for indulgent items soared – from “adult toy” (up 18 per cent) to “pamper” (up 30 per cent) and “self-care” (up 43 per cent).
Although early rumours of a lockdown baby boom may have been exaggerated, the latest insights from eBay Ads suggest such a trend may well come to fruition – meaning brands should be prepared to engage with potential new parents this winter. In April 2020, eBay saw searches for “pregnancy” and “baby” rise 57 per cent and 45 per cent respectively, compared to the month before – possibly as numbers of expectant mothers swelled.
And, as people progressed through the stages of pregnancy, they started to shop for newborn essentials. In July 2020, ebay.co.uk saw interest in pram brands increase – searches for ‘Maclaren’ jumped by 79 per cent compared to April, while searches for ‘Maxi-cosi’ and ‘Quinny’ rose by 74 per cent and 49 per cent respectively, in the same time frame.
Harmony Murphy, Head of UK Advertising at eBay, said: “Whether people are going through a break-up or welcoming a new addition to their family, these big life changes can have a profound effect on shoppers’ needs and behaviour. With couples having been cooped up at home again, we expect to see a fresh wave of babies and break ups depending on which way their relationships turned. Brands should keep a close eye on shopper behaviour over the next few weeks and harness the freshest data insights available in order to offer comfort, information and inspiration to their audiences when they need it.”
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