Google’s supremacy in the world of online searching seemed unassailable, but in spite of the fact that this is the case the tech juggernaut has seen its influence diminish in the wake of new upstarts coming into the fray. Two of the biggest threats to Google’s current dominance are TikTok and Instagram, and in an interesting turn of events it seems that Gen Z users are more likely to use either of these two platforms instead of Google to find products that they want to buy.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that search engines in general are falling out of favor among young people when they are doing things like finding a place to go to for lunch. Social media platforms are being more widely used, and this might put pressure on search engines since they are being used less often than might have been the case otherwise.
Consumers are also generally doing less research about products before buying them with all things having been considered and taken into account. This number, as per Global Web Index, has dropped by 8%, and that might also be contributing to the lower level of search engine usage among Gen Z users.
The way that consumers are using the internet is also seeing a marked shift. While finding information is still the top use for going online, staying up to date in current events has fallen into third place since 2018 with the second spot being taken up by staying in touch with loved ones.
Using the internet to find inspiration or ideas has gone from 9th place in 2018 to 6th place in 2022. This has resulted in other things falling down a place. Researching products used to be the 6th most popular reason for using the internet, but it has now been knocked down into 7th place in the current reshuffling.
While Google’s dominance won’t be going away anytime soon, the fact that 55% of product searches are now occurring on Amazon indicates that they might be diminished.
Read next: Around 9 in 10 of Internet Users Do Not Password-Protect Their Wi-Fi
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that search engines in general are falling out of favor among young people when they are doing things like finding a place to go to for lunch. Social media platforms are being more widely used, and this might put pressure on search engines since they are being used less often than might have been the case otherwise.
Consumers are also generally doing less research about products before buying them with all things having been considered and taken into account. This number, as per Global Web Index, has dropped by 8%, and that might also be contributing to the lower level of search engine usage among Gen Z users.
The way that consumers are using the internet is also seeing a marked shift. While finding information is still the top use for going online, staying up to date in current events has fallen into third place since 2018 with the second spot being taken up by staying in touch with loved ones.
Using the internet to find inspiration or ideas has gone from 9th place in 2018 to 6th place in 2022. This has resulted in other things falling down a place. Researching products used to be the 6th most popular reason for using the internet, but it has now been knocked down into 7th place in the current reshuffling.
While Google’s dominance won’t be going away anytime soon, the fact that 55% of product searches are now occurring on Amazon indicates that they might be diminished.
Read next: Around 9 in 10 of Internet Users Do Not Password-Protect Their Wi-Fi
