How have consumers' search needs regarding "masks" changed? A look back at the COVID-19 from 2020 to 2022

In 2020, COVID-19 spread throughout the world. In the early days of the pandemic, there was little information available, and anxiety grew, heightening people's wariness regarding the disease. Every morning, there were customers waiting in long lines at drugstores and supermarkets to purchase masks. Consumers were focused on how they can get their hands on masks because the production could not keep up with the rapid increase in demand.

Let's take a closer look. From July to September 2020, the top searches for masks were for the names of the companies that manufactured them. We can see that people were searching various search terms related to masks in an attempt to somehow find available masks.

When people could not find masks to buy, they had no choice but to make it by hand. That is why search terms such as "paper stencil" and "how to make / DIY" have risen to the top of the list.

From July to September 2021, about a year after the COVID-19 outbreak, there was a slight change in the frequently-searched terms.

The situation has changed from a year ago, when non-woven (surgical grade) masks disappeared from store shelves, and in 2021, there is no shortage of non-woven masks. While interest in non-woven masks continues to grow, interest in its effectiveness in preventing infection is also growing. The news was reporting that the cloth masks were less effective in preventing infection, and this is thought to have increased interest in non-woven masks.

In 2022, the number of positive cases gradually decreased and had been relatively calm, but just in July, the number of positive cases increased sharply. Searches regarding masks still were still high in 2022, and search terms regarding masks also changed.

The standard color for non-woven masks is white. However, since many people now wear masks daily, manufacturers now make them in various colors. The "mask" was positioned itself as a part of fashion or a form of etiquette.

Women who wear makeup also have a new problem where wearing a mask causes makeup to rub off. Wearing a three-dimensional mask reduces the contact between the face and the mask, so the makeup does not rub off as much. There are more choices, such as masks in colors that make the face appear more fair, masks with ruffles and lace designs, and masks with cute characters on them for children to wear.

At this point, the percentage of people searching for masks is now 60.4%, an increase from the previous year.

At the beginning of 2020, the gender distribution was slightly more female with 55.2% of those searching for "mask" was female and 45.8% was male.

However, the percentage of women is gradually increasing from 2020 to 2022. This result also shows that expectations for the fashionable nature of masks are increasing.

Although the percentage of users in their 40s and 50s, who are parents, was high in 2020, the interest among young people in their 20s and 30s is increasing as their awareness has changed over the years and they have become "part of fashion." This may be the reason for the increase in interest among young people in their 20s and 30s.

From 2020 to 2022, it seems that for people, masks have changed from something that is "just simply worn" to wearing the "most effective in preventing infection," and then to "something that is more effective in preventing infection, but also satisfies your preferences and reduces your worries."

Three-dimensional masks are attracting attention from those who wear makeup. It is clear that such fashion-seeking users are also paying more attention to "price."

The third most popular webpage after a search for "mask three-dimensional" was the Daiso's website, a major 100 yen store, and the third most popular webpage was a column article about the appearance of three-dimensional masks at Daiso for 100 yen (excluding tax) for 20 masks, indicating that consumers are becoming more cost-conscious about masks. This indicates that consumers are becoming more cost-conscious about masks.

The cost of non-woven masks, which are used daily and in some situations several per day, will have a significant impact on household budgets. We can see the dilemma of consumers who want to wear masks that are more comfortable and functional, while at the same time wanting to keep the cost of masks as low as possible.

In this case study, we analyzed the changing trends and user needs for "masks" based on data from July through September of 2020, when the impact of COVID-19 began to emerge, to the present, now in 2022.

The analysis revealed the following characteristics.

・In 2020, there was a shortage of "masks" and many users seemed to want the masks themselves, regardless of function.

・In 2021, "masks" were in short supply, indicating a high level of interest in its "effectiveness," such as which is more effective in preventing infection, non-woven masks or cloth masks, compared to cloth masks.

・In 2022, "masks" seem to be considered a part of fashion and etiquette, creating new search needs for mask functions such as "three-dimensional" and "color." Users are willing to purchase masks in a cost-effective manner.

Through this analysis, we found that consumer needs for "masks" gradually changed.

▼Data from Dockpit was used in this case study. Dockpit is an online behavior analytics tool provided by VALUES, Inc., and it allows you to access online behavioral data (updated monthly) via your browser so you can research competitor websites and investigate trends. There is a FREE version of Dockpit, so if you are interested in using it, please register below.