ByPuja Gupta

December 30, 2019 (IANSlife) Christmas and the holiday season, Indians online searches become aligned to the festive season. Christmas has an important place in India, and a SEMrush study captures this fact. The study reveals the kinds of recipes, movies, and songs Indians like to search for during the festive season. It showed that during the festive season, Indians have a stronger preference for richer foods like palak paneer, biryani, and butter chicken. 

Each recipe was searched online 90,500, 60,500, and 33,100 times was searched from last December. Other recipes that were widely searched include dum aloo, malai kofta, and jalebi.

Preferences for movies also change during the festive season. The SEMrush study showed that while Indians most searched for blockbuster releases, decades-old family-friendly classics experience a surge in popularity during the festive season. Movies including “3 Idiots”, “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” and “Hum Aapke Hain Kaun” were the 8th, 9th, and 10th, most searched for films decades since they were first released. Each movie was searched an average of 301,000, 301,000, and 246,000 times from last December.

Unsurprisingly during the festive season, the most searched for songs were “Jingle Bells”, 

“12 Days of Christmas”, “Yeshu Paida Hua”, “Chodo Kal ki Baatein”, and "Jingle Bells” in Hindi. Each was searched an average of 301,000, 9,900, 5,400, 3,600, and 1,900 times respectively. While “Chodo Kal ki Baatein” is unrelated to Christmas, its message of creating new beginning resonates with the spirit of Christmas.

In addition, the study also captured the most popular recipes, movies, and songs related to Christmas. The most searched recipe related to Christmas was Allahabadi Cake. The most searched movie having a festive theme was “Anari” in which the countdown to the next year in the song “Nineteen-Fifty-Six” is known to every Indian. 

The most searched for songs centred on Christmas are “Mera Prabhu Janma”, “Jingle Bells” and “12 Days of Christmas”, respectively.

Speaking about study, Fernando Angulo, Head of Communications, SEMrush said: “Our study shows that the preferences of Indian consumers change as Christmas and the holiday season arrives. There is nostalgia for timeless movies that can be watched with family, a craving for hearty food and want for melodies that add cheer to the festive season. Foods like cakes, which are always popular, become more so during Christmas. Businesses should note that playing the mentioned Christmas songs in shops will enhance customers’ experience and putting rich foods and cakes on menus will attract buyers. 

Broadcasters should take note that viewers want to see timeless movies during the festive season”.

(This article is website exclusive and cannot be reproduced without the permission from IANSlife)

Puja Gupta can be contacted at puja.g@ians.in

Editing by Aditi Roy