What search says about what people think
Bill Tancer, general manager of global research at Hitwise, writing for Time:
Perhaps Internet actions speak louder than survey answers. Take the cost of gasoline. Despite gasoline prices reaching an all-time high this month, searches for “gas prices” during September 2005, when gas prices breached the $3/gallon mark, were six times greater than last week when the average gallon of regular gas hit $3.21. But to get at the question of what consumers think about gas prices and how they view the effect on the economy, you have to dig a little deeper. For example, how do soaring pump prices affect our vacation plans? Visits to U.S. travel sites are down only 2% when compared to the same time last year; visits to airline sites are down only 3% compared to last year at this time, explaining my “extremely full flight.” Consumers’ short-term economic outlook might be reflected in overall vacation plans. Examining the most common search phrases containing “vacation” indicate no pull-back in the scope of our getaway plans; the most popular vacation phrase: “Hawaii Vacation.”
Confidence in the Confidence Index?
