Valentine's Day special: Couples make the most of long weekend, plan getaways to Auli, Ooty & Goa

The sense of self has evolved in most people. Google saw an uptick in self-care searches. People were willing to spend more on health and fitness (43%), grooming services (35%) and beauty and personal care products (31%).

The searches were not limited to beauty products and fitness. Interest in grooming and shopping also saw a rise. Specific interests like 'heart shape face hairstyle male' saw a jump by over 330%, searches on 'limited edition shoes' grew by 170% and ‘perfume for women’ was up by 40%-plus.

The millennials are eager to resume travel. As demand for travel in 2022 surpassed 2019's pre-pandemic levels across most of Asia-Pacific regions and India, searches for 'international trips' nearly doubled to grow at 80%. Search interest for the ‘Thailand trip’ grew by over 90% and for the ‘Europe trip’ by over 50%. Searches for 'cheap flights' have seen a surge of 60%.

While trying to be budget-friendly, Indians also wanted to make the most of luxury experiences. Search interest for 'luxury hotels' grew by 40%. Keen to reconnect with their immediate surroundings, ‘local guide program’ searches also saw a growth of over 90%.

Sustainability has been a top priority for most Indians with search growing by 40%. People are discovering that purchases which support sustainability can help them manage their spending better. In addition, search interest in ‘organic products’ doubled, ‘affordable and clean energy’ queries increased by 140%, and queries about ‘things that can be recycled’ rose by 20%.

With global uncertainty, Indians realised it was time to enhance their financial acumen. Financial and economic awareness search queries for ‘fuel price rise hike’ rose by +150% and ‘inflation’ grew by 50%.

Popular workplace terms like ‘great resignation’ and ‘quiet quitting’ saw significant growth at 1030% and 50%, respectively. Indians found that it was time to focus on professional growth, career pivots and harmonising work and life. Searches on ‘salary negotiation’ grew by 60%, ‘upskilling’ by 30%, and ‘career change’ was up by 20%.

People were keen on balancing their online and offline experiences. The interest in in-person events rose substantially with queries for ‘movie in theatre’ rising 220% and ‘live concert’ growing by 80%. Searches for ‘OTT release’ also saw a jump of 380%.

After the prolonged Covid pandemic, people want to find enough time to enjoy offline experiences. Sporting events remained at the top of mind for millennials with queries on ‘cricket match ticket’ growing by 170% and ‘Fifa world cup ticket’ by over 140%.