TAGUIG CITY – Filipino millennials are taking advantage of smartphone technology and internet access as they take on their journey to reaching their full potential, according to Google Trends. Seventy-five percent say they go online to look for information, 66% form decisions online by using Search, and 57% watch online videos to learn something new.

Making smart, mature decisions

Google Trends data reveal that the top three adulting categories Filipino millennials searched for in the second quarter of 2017 are finance, vehicles, and real estate The finance category, which covers loans and credit cards, saw a search growth of 24%. Vehicles had a 17% search growth while real estate had 16%. Other adulting categories include home and garden, baby, parenting and family, and job and careers. Adulting, a term commonly used by millennials, is a practice of making grown up decisions.

Preferring experiences over things

Millennials are deeply involved in the Experience Economy, where rich experiences are valued over material possessions. They go for bigger and more adventurous travel bucket lists with the goal of building unique experiences. This is shown on Google Trends which reveals a 19% search growth for travel and tourism in the second quarter of 2017 with 52% of travel searches coming from mobile.

Restaurants also showed a 25% search growth driven by fastfood and restaurant reviews. Arts and entertainment, hobbies and leisure, and family and community are also among the most searched experience-related categories.

Aspiring to be makers

According to Global Web Index, an estimated 47% of Filipino millennials are non-TV to light-TV viewers who rely on other platforms for entertainment. Watching movies, listening to music, and catching TV shows on YouTube are the top ways millennials find inspiration to be creative.

According to Google Philippines Industry Analyst Geia Lopez, brands should take on the role of enablers by providing millennials access to three things: adulthood, experiences, and creativity. “The choices and possibilities that millennials face are infinite. The challenge for brands is to make these three things accessible to millennials and make them feel confident and secure in the decisions they make to realize their objectives,” said Geia.

SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS

Filipino millennials are turning to Search to help them make decisions online. Google Trends data reveal their Search behaviors when interacting with brands online.

Three things Filipino millennials do online:

Filipino millennials want access to information. Seventy-five percent say internet is the first place they go to for information. Sixty-six percent did product research on Search while 79% go online for fun. Filipino millennials use the internet to help define themselves in new and complex ways. Top most searched categories include arts and entertainment, hobbies and leisure, travel and tourism, computers, family and community, and vehicles. Other top searches include sports and fitness, apparel, finance, and mobile phones. Filipino millennials want access to adulting, creativity, and experiences. Adulting. The top adulting categories based on search growth for the second quarter of 2017 are finance, vehicles, and real estate. The finance category saw a search growth of 24%, vehicles had 17%, and real estate had 16%. Other adulting categories include home and garden (15%), baby, parenting and family (15%), and job and careers (14%

Creativity. Creativity is the most searched and most watched access theme for millennials. Watching movies, listening to music, and catching TV shows on YouTube are the top ways millennials immerse in creativity.

Experiences. Filipino millennials value experiences than products and services. Travel and tourism registered a search growth of 19% driven by accommodations and attractions while searches for restaurant reached 25% driven by fastfood and restaurant reviews



Here are some data on Filipinos’ searches on Christmas:

The biggest holiday just got bigger, longer, and more mobile. In 2016, searches for Christmas grew by 24% from 2015, hitting 500,000 query mark from as early as July 2016 to March 2017. Forty-six percent of searches came from mobile. In December 2016, it went up to 54%. Finger traffic drives foot traffic. According to Consumer Barometer, 65% of Filipinos say they research online before buying a product.

The Path to Purchase study reveals that by the end of their research, Filipinos will have an average of two options.

Filipinos observe two holiday shopping modes: High Ticket, High Preparation: This peaks before and right after December with travel, vehicles, finance, and real estate as top categories.

Mad Rush to Delight: This peaks during December itself with entertainment, mobile phones, and restaurants as top categories.