Hitwise, a leading British online competitive intelligence service, and part of Experian, major UK-based research company, reveals that UK Internet users are increasingly looking for second-hand goods online.
UK Internet searches for second-hand goods have increased by 22% over the last 12 months, while classifieds websites have experienced a 47% increase in traffic over the same period. This latest trend identified by Hitwise continues to suggest that consumers are turning to the Internet to help them deal with the financial pressures and insecurities brought on by the global credit crunch.
The number of UK Internet searches containing the word ‘second-hand' increased by 22% between the weeks ending 13 October 2007 and 11 October 2008. During the 12 weeks ending 11 October 2008, UK Internet users searched for over 22,000 distinct terms containing the phrase ‘second-hand' with searches for ‘second-hand cars' proving to be the most popular.
• Second-hand cars
• Second-hand books
• Second-hand car prices
• Second-hand furniture
• Second-hand bikes
UK Internet visits to Freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org), the website that enables people to recycle their unwanted goods by passing them on to others, increased by 35% between September 2007 and September 2008.
“The community aspect has played an important role in the success of Freecycle and lots of people are searching the web for lists in their neighbourhood,” commented Robin Goad, Director of Research for Hitwise.
“The site is currently most popular in Wales and the West Midlands and is used most by people with families”.
The increase in searches for second-hand goods has also benefited Classifieds websites, which experienced a 47% increase in traffic between September 2007 and September 2008. However, equestrian searches are one area where Classifieds sites appear to be bucking the general trend. Searches for ‘horses for sale' - currently the most popular search term containing the phrase ‘for sale' - have increased by 5% over the last 12 months.
