• by Laurie Sullivan , April 21, 2017

Data released Friday identifies some interesting differences in behavior for those searching on Amazon, compared with Google.

Hitwise, a Connexity company, created categories to analyze the different types of products or services that consumers search for on Amazon and Google.

The Hitwise data is based on the top 100 product searches on Amazon's internal site search, compared with the same searches on Google during the fourth quarter of 2016. Hitwise created categories to analyze the different types of products or services that consumers search for across the marketplace and on Google. It analyzes the top product searches during the fourth quarter of 2016 exclusively on Amazon versus the same searches on Google.

Amazon clearly takes the No. 1 spot when it comes to headphones at 77%, vs. Google at 21%. Amazon also leads Google on searches for PC at 70% vs. 27%, phones at 68% vs. 30%, Kindle/Echo at 65% vs 32%, and TVs at 55% vs. 41%, respectively.

Consumers go to Google more for movies and shows at 66% vs. Amazon at 21%, gaming at 56% vs. 38%, wearables at 55% vs. 39%, Christmas at 57% vs. 40%, and toys at 55% vs. 41%.

The data suggests that high-income households are more likely to search exclusively on Amazon for certain products, while lower-income households skew toward Google for both the headphone and television categories.

Headphone searches by income skew higher toward Amazon for households that generate at least $100,000 or more than $150,000 in annual income. Households with an annual income of up to $30,000 skew higher when it comes to Google-only searches for headphones. Those with an annual income of between $30,000 and $59,999 are just about flat. Google also takes more headphone searches from Amazon for those households with an annual income of between $60,000 and $99,999.

Searches for television sets follow the same pattern, and the data suggests that Amazon Prime membership might pay a role in higher-income households skewing toward Amazon.

The Hitwise data also shows a pattern between the singular and the plural variations in words such as "gift card" vs "gift cards." While many product searches skew more heavily toward Amazon, singular variations are much more likely to be Amazon-only.

For example, those searching on Amazon are 13 times more likely to use the singular of the keyword "gift card" compared with the plural version, "gift cards," at three times more likely. The same is true for "laptop" at 3.8 times more likely vs. "laptops" at 1.8 times, and "tablet" at 5.5 times more likely vs. "tablets" at 2.2 times.