If the pandemic taught us anything, it is that we have adopted the digital world more than we would like to admit. Call it a boon or a curse, but digital transformation is what helped us survive the pandemic- whether to get through hours of boredom, get something delivered to your doorstep, or be able to manage our work from the “comfort” of our dining tables. I don’t think we would have survived lockdowns playing snake on a Nokia 6110 while watching the 4th repeat on linear TV and making sure the phone line was clear to receive a fax we were waiting for from our customer.
If we look at the economic side of things, especially at the retail businesses worldwide which struggled through 2020 but learned and came out strong in 2021, we would be able to write books on economics and the power of human adaptability.
Today, we want to focus specifically on the eCommerce world and rewind the year. 2021 has enhanced dynamism in the eCommerce landscape. From new eCommerce businesses to new products, and features built around our new reality, even to new consumer segments (elderly). It has boomed despite the many roadblocks posed by the pandemic, some of which are being anticipated to continue well into 2022 and even 2023.
Increased demand, coupled with labor shortages, shipping capacity, and semiconductor chip shortages created huge supply chain disruptions increasing retail prices across major eCommerce categories. As per our partner report by Stackline, the consumer price index was up by 6.2% in the US eCommerce marketplaces. Check out Stackline’s report here and watch our PiWheel LinkedIn space for updated insights on the region.
In view of these disruptions and challenges, we analyzed the trends to watch in the most popular categories in UAE eCommerce- what are consumers searching for, which keywords do they use, which brands do they check out, and which SKUs received the most interest.
Brands that drove the most traffic in 2021
After an amazing performance in 2020, Samsung again stood out on top in terms of garnering the most traffic for the Cell Phone category in 2021. Samsung’s traffic for the category increased by a massive +88% as compared to the prior year. What is interesting to note here is that organic traffic formed 91.6% of the total traffic for the brand.
Samsung was followed by Apple, Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Huawei to claim the next spots.
82% of the traffic in the category was captured by these 5 brands.
Top SKUs capturing the most traffic in 2021
Samsung launched its Galaxy S21 model in January 2021 in UAE. Be it the hype around the product, the media activities, or simply the amazing features, it stood out as the top product for the brand.
(Want to know which other SKUs made it to the list? Connect with us for a detailed review)
Top 10 keywords searched in 2021
Apple’s iPhone was one of the favorites as the keywords related to the iPhone claimed 6 out of 10 spots in the top 10 searched keywords. What is interesting to note is that Apple launched its iPhone 13 series in September 2021, but despite that, iPhone 12 and iPhone 11-related keywords were the most popular.
Top non-branded keywords searched in 2021
When it comes to non-branded keywords, Apple was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Samsung took the top spot for the terms ‘Mobile Phones’ and ‘Phone’.
Market Share in 2021
Apple topped the charts in terms of market share, increasing by 32% from 2020. Surprisingly, the other brands lost their market share to Apple with the hardest hit taken by Huawei.
Brands that drove the most traffic in 2021
Nescafe stood out on top in terms of garnering the most traffic for the Coffee Maker category in 2021. Although the increase in traffic from 2020 was a slight +4.30% for Nescafe. Organic traffic formed 59.4% of the total traffic for the brand.
Nescafe was followed by Nespresso, DeLonghi, Black+Decker to claim the next spots.
46% of the traffic in the category was captured by these 4 brands.
The highest increase in traffic was experienced by Black+Decker.
Top SKUs capturing the most traffic in 2021
Nescafe launched its Dolce Gusto coffee machine model in August 2021 in UAE. Be it the hype around the product, the media activities, or simply the amazing features, it stood out as the top product for the brand.
(Want to know which other SKUs made it to the list? Connect with us for a detailed review)
Top 10 keywords searched in 2021
Nespresso and Dolce Gusto were some of the favorite keywords of 2021 in this category. The increase in search for Nespresso-related keywords was +67% this year while Dolce Gusto-related searches increased by almost +100%.
Top non-branded keywords searched in 2021
There was a mix of brands that won the non-branded search in 2021. While Nescafe was popular for ‘expresso machine’ searches, Black+Decker took the cake for most basic searches such as ‘coffee machine’ and ‘coffee maker’.
DeLonghi topped the charts in terms of market share, despite decreasing by -18% from 2020. Other top brands- Nespresso and Nescafe increased very slightly while Breville showed a massive spike of +255% in market share.
Brands that drove the most traffic in 2021
Kellogg’s once again stood on top after garnering +167% more traffic in 2021 as compared to the previous year. 90% of the total traffic was organically driven
Kellogg’s was followed by Quaker, Nestle, Bob’s Red Mill, and General Mills to claim the next spots.
53% of the traffic in the category was captured by these 5 brands.
Top SKUs capturing the most traffic in 2021
Kellogg’s 1kg cereal pack was the most popular product for the brand while Quaker’s 500g white oats grabbed the eyeballs. It’s interesting to note that there is no particular trend in the quantity of the products that garnered traffic. A 1 kg pack is a hit for one brand while a smaller pack for another is still the most popular choice.
(Want to know which other SKUs made it to the list? Connect with us for a detailed review)
Top 10 keywords searched in 2021
The searches for oats-related keywords increased tremendously over the past year. ‘oats’ keyword increased by +108% while ‘rolled oats’ increased by +184%.
Top non-branded keywords searched in 2021
The generic keywords were won by brands specializing in their product lines. As is evident from the chart, Kellogg’s won the search for cornflakes, Quaker for oats but Bob’s Red Mills is also in line for a share of the search for oats and even rolled oats.
Kellogg’s topped the charts in this category in 2021 with the highest market share, increasing only slightly from the previous year but growing to the top spot from rank #2, beating Bob’s Red Mills whose market share decreased drastically by -39% in 2021.
The highest growth was seen by General Mills, increasing by almost +377%.
Brands that drove the most traffic in 2021
Similar to 2020, Oral-B again stood out on top in terms of garnering the most traffic for the Oral Care category in 2021. Oral-B’s traffic increased by 87% over the past year and organic traffic made up 77% of the total traffic for the brand.
Oral-B was followed by Colgate, Sensodyne, Crest, and Listerine to claim the next spots.
60% of the traffic in the category was captured by these 5 brands.
Top SKUs capturing the most traffic in 2021
Launched in 2020, Oral-B’s new Pro 2500 electric toothbrush was the top product with the most traffic in 2021. For the other 2 brands, the top product was the toothpaste sets.
(Want to know which other SKUs made it to the list? Connect with us for a detailed review)
Top 10 keywords searched in 2021
4 out of 10 most searched keywords are branded, showing how specific consumer searches are in some cases. While the pandemic shook brand loyalty in more ways, consumers still have a preference for oral care products.
Top non-branded keywords searched in 2021
Similar to the Cereals category, this category also saw keyword winners as per brand specialization and awareness. Oral-B won the share for ‘toothbrush’ and ‘electric toothbrush’ while Listerine won the share for ‘mouthwash’.
Market Share in 2021
Oral-B won the market share with a +7.5% increase from the previous year.
Philips and Crest experienced a decline in share but stood out at the same positions as they were in 2020 for market share.
Brands that drove the most traffic in 2021
Adidas and Crocs stood very closely when it came to garnering traffic in 2021 but Adidas still took the top spot (previously at rank 2) after increasing by +495% from the previous year.
88% of the total traffic for Adidas was from organic search.
Adidas and Crocs were followed by Centrino, Skechers, and Nike to claim the next spots.
42% of the traffic in the category was captured by these 5 brands.
Top SKUs capturing the most traffic in 2021
Adidas’ classic Men’s sandal was the top product for the brand.
(Want to know which other SKUs made it to the list? Connect with us for a detailed review)
Top 10 keywords searched in 2021
There were some brands that popped up in the top 10 search keywords in 2021 for the category. Crocs, Adidas, Lacoste, Birkenstock, and Clarks. This goes on to show the brand recall value and also the loyal customer base.
Top non-branded keywords searched in 2021
When it comes to non-branded keywords, Adidas was popular for men’s slippers while Centrino was a hit for the formal shoe keywords.
Market Share in 2021
Skechers was the top player in terms of market share with a 10.3% share, despite decreasing by -10.40%. Crocs dropped to the 3rd position from #2 while Adidas grew to the 2nd spot after gaining the market share.
Brands that drove the most traffic in 2021
Skechers once again claimed the top spot in garnering the most traffic in 2021 for the women’s shoe category. The brand’s traffic increased by +196% with over 90% traffic from organic sources.
Skechers was followed by JOTO, Adidas, crocs, and Nike to claim the next spots.
38% of the traffic in the category was captured by these 5 brands.
Top SKUs capturing the most traffic in 2021
Skechers’ top product was the ‘Go Walk Women’s Shoes’ which was launched in 2020 and instantly gained traffic momentum.
(Want to know which other SKUs made it to the list? Connect with us for a detailed review)
Top 10 keywords searched in 2021
The top 10 keywords contained a mix of brand names for the category in 2021. From Skechers to Lacoste, there was no clear winner for the branded keywords.
Top non-branded keywords searched in 2021
The generic keywords also had mixed traffic with different brands winning the traffic share for different non-branded keywords.
Market Share searched in 2021
Skechers claimed the top position in market share as well, despite decreasing by -23.7% from the previous year. It was followed by Lacoste, Adidas, and Tommy Hilfiger.
