Roughly 1 in 8 Americans tend to move in any given year, according to Census Bureau data. Research has shown that movers tend to be big spenders, and are quite liberal with their brand loyalties, in the sense that they’re prone to switching service providers. Now, new data from Hitwise [download page] shows that movers are actively searching for food in their new neighborhoods – making paid search a valuable option for restaurants.
To arrive at its conclusions, Hitwise compiled a segment of Americans who had – during the first half of 2017 – either visited a moving company website, conducted one of more than 4,000 searches for moving services, or visited one of the top address change sites.
The analysis found that these “high-intent” movers were considerably more likely than average to conduct “near me” searches – particularly for food options. For example, they were 62% more likely than the overall online population to search for “food delivery near me,” 49% more likely to search for “chinese food near me,” and 48% more likely to search for “pizza near me.” They were also 32% more likely to use a more generic “food near me” search.
Hitwise’s analysts note that brands could invest in paid search to target movers rather than buying expensive lists of movers.
That recommendation isn’t limited to food companies, either. Overall, movers 88% more likely than average to run a “near me” search. They also show an above-average likelihood to run a “near me” search for urgent care, car washes and gyms.
Boomer movers (ages 55-64), meanwhile, are less likely to search for food options than other movers, but more apt to look for pet-related services such as boarding and pet stores. They’re also more likely to search for “lawn care near me.”
Separately, the Hitwise report reveals that the “high-intent” mover segment has a strong inclination to also conduct “how to” searches, being almost 3 times more likely than average to do so. The analysis singles out home- and job-related searches including “how to clean hardwood floors” (+387%) and “how to negotiate a salary” (+306%) as being of particular importance to movers.
The results seem valuable for local services companies, which can capitalize on these trends with a strong paid search strategy.
The full report can be downloaded here.
