Laptops, dogs top online searches among Filipino shoppers —��iPrice

Laptops, smartphones, and tablets were among the most popular items among online shoppers in the Philippines this year, according to a��, as pandemic restrictions kept people at home.����

Many potentially purchased these items to “enhance their work- or study-from-home experience,” the e-commerce aggregator said in the report.����

This was also the case in neighboring countries Malaysia and Singapore, where extended lockdowns were put in place throughout 2021.������

In the Philippines, the top five most browsed items included refrigerators and bicycles as well, reflecting how people adjusted differently to sedentary lifestyles — by stocking up on food��or by finding��ways to stay active.��

Cakes also ranked high for Filipinos, according to��iPrice, with bakeshop Red Ribbon being a widely searched brand. The meta-search website added that desserts were popular due to the need to celebrate “vital moments such as birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and other significant events while at home.”����

Across Southeast Asia,��iPrice��also found that there was a 57% increase in searches for romantic gifts in January 2021, compared to the same period in 2020. For those without partners, the search for pets doubled year-on-year, with Filipinos looking for dogs in particular, around five times more than cats.����

On a serious note, the e-commerce aggregator previously detected a 59% increase in Filipinos’����in the first five months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.������

There was a similar surge in Indonesia and Malaysia, showing that despite the availability of retail therapy, Southeast Asian consumers still suffered��mental health��issues over the pandemic. —��Brontë H. Lacsamana