New quarterly Google Analytics reveal a decline in online searches for leading watch brands Rolex, Cartier and TAG Heuer from August 2021 to October 2021, as high street sales increased.
The top three brands with the highest average number of searches from within the UK were Rolex, TAG Heuer and Richard Mille.
Unsurprisingly, Rolex is the most searched for brand with a total volume of 143,400 searches per month, almost three times higher than second place TAG Heuer (53,480) and, more surprisingly, Richard Mille (37,210).
Digital Consultancy agency Spike compiled the search analytics data for leading watch brands experiencing the highest and lowest brand searches over the last 12 months.
The latest data, run via search analytics platform SimilarWeb, assessed the month on month fluctuations in brand searches for the world’s leading watch brands between the months of August 2021 to October 2021.
Rolex remains comfortably top of the search list, with 143,455 average searches per month, and had over 1.7 million searches over the past 12 months, from December 2020 to October 2021.
TAG Heuer is second highest, with an average of 53,481 brand searches per month and just under 642,000 searches annually.
While the third most searched for brand is Richard Mille, with an average of 37,210 searches per month and 446,535 searches in the past 12 months from December 2020 to October 2021.
Christopher Ward beats Cartier
The data reveals a drop in month on searches for Cartier, Hublot and TAG Heuer.
Cartier experienced the most significant decrease of 48% in brand searches from October 2021 to September 2021, falling well down in the table and below brands such as Nomos and Christopher Ward.
Brand searches for Cartier, Hublot, TAG Heuer and Citizen from August 2021 to October 2021 revealed significant month on month decreases.
TAG Heuer held on to 53,481 brand searches on average per month over the past 12 months but saw a 48% decrease in searches, despite rolling out a more digital focused sales strategy in 2019.
As the decreases took place between August to October 2021, seasonality alongside the recovery of footfall to high street retailers could be two possible reasons for drops in brand search, which peaked over the first lock downs in 2020.
Despite the long-awaited release of the James Bond film in October 2021, brand searches for Omega watches saw only a modest uplift at this time, with an increase to 51,571 searches in October compared to 38,802 in the previous month.
The dominance of the biggest luxury watch brands in Google searches also reflects the values of these brands within the pre-owned market, as customers search online for the best deals.
The one exception to this is Seiko, which is the clear leader in Google searches among the mid-market watch brands.
About Spike
Spike specialises in digital and search marketing strategies including direct response disciplines in paid and natural search. Spike has experience across a wide range of sectors from lead generation sites to ecommerce businesses. Spike has a particular depth of expertise within the watch industry, led by head of PR Sarah Carpin, who has previously worked with brands such as Casio G Shock and the Citizen Watch Group.
