Study: What do consumers digitally search for during the holidays?

Holiday shoppers want to find their way to toys and booze.

A new study on global consumer search behavior from search technology provider Yext found that searches for directions to toy stores rise up to 231% above average on Dec. 19. Meanwhile, online requests for directions to liquor stores climb up to 160% above average on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24).

Yext examined the volume of clicks for directions and website clicks in search for businesses around the world and found other trends including:

•    Dec. 20: Directions requests to mailing services peak at 55% above average on Dec. 20th and fall unsurprisingly to almost 90% below average on Christmas Day.

•    Dec. 25: Directions requests to casual dining restaurants rise 32% above average on Christmas Day. Dec. 25 also shows increases in search requests for ATMs (with direction requests 53% above average), toy stores (53% above average), jewelry stores (56% above average), and flower shops (33% above average). However, the worst day for food delivery businesses is Christmas Day, when delivery restaurants see their lowest relative volume in clicks to their website from search at 44% below average.

•    Dec. 26: Clicks for directions to clothing retailers are almost 60% above average.

•    Dec. 27: Clicks for directions to arcade businesses peak at 98% above average.

•    Dec. 31: On New Year's Eve, consumers are ready to party, requests for directions to liquor stores are about 145% more than the average. Requests for directions to bars and clubs on this day rise to nearly 50% above average, as well.

•    Jan. 3: Directions requests to gyms and fitness centers increase 46% more than average on Jan. 3.

Yext examined the volume of clicks for directions and clicks to websites for a sample of over 4 million listings in search between Nov. 15, 2018, and Jan. 15, 2019.