COVID-19 has forced most of South Africans to stay at home. The shutdown of points of interest, workplaces, schools, and universities has made a colossal difference in our daily lives.
Picodi.com Analysis Team investigated Google search queries and created a ranking of the activities which gained the biggest popularity in the times of pandemic.
Trapped at home
We took a closer look at the most popular hobbies and activities, such as cinema, books, games, and many others. We checked the frequency of search queries connected to these activities in March 2020 and compared them with March of the previous year.
After evaluating statistics, it turned out that all activities that require leaving home have become less popular: concerts dropped by 79 per cent, theatre — 67 per cent, cinema — 58 per cent. South Africans also lost interest in photography, dancing, and home renovation.
READ: Local artists and content creators using TikTok to keep South African entertained during national lockdown
The biggest increase of interest was noted in board games (245 per cent), home gym (223 per cent), and online courses, such as Udemy (194 per cent).. There is a possibility that the uncertain situation in the labour market has made Internet users seek opportunities to gain additional qualifications.
Various creative activities and crafts, like crocheting (88 per cent) or drawing (28 per cent) have also gained popularity.
Among activities which increased by a relatively slow margin are listening to podcasts and painting (5 and 4 per cent respectively).
Methodology
The research is based on the changes in the popularity of various keywords in March 2020 compared with March of the previous year, according to Google archival data (through Google Trends).
About Picodi
Picodi is an international e-commerce platform which provides discount coupons for online stores. Founded in 2010 in Kraków, it currently operates in 44 countries and is listed in FT1000 ranking of Europe’s fastest-growing companies. In South Africa since 2015.
Picodi Analysis Department
The unit was established in 2017, and it analyses the market, consumer activities, prices of products and services, as well as wages.
- Head of Department: Nikolay Kashcheev
- Researchers: Katarzyna Kobyłka, Paweł Stolarczyk, Irina Egurtsova
- Graphic Design: Daria Ponomareva