Dogs are going to have a great Christmas if Amazon’s trending searches are to be believed

 

By Christopher Zara

Amazon appears to have quietly rolled out a trending searches feature that taps into the hive mind of willful consumers. And if current search topics are any indication, America will have a lot of happy pets on Christmas morning 2022.

The trending topics, which appear in a drop-down menu when you click Amazon’s main search window, indicate a rash of furious holiday shopping on the part of consumers, with phrases like “mens stocking stuffers,” “chocolate gift box,” and “womens gifts for christmas” all trending as of this week. But one curious phrase—”dog christmas gifts”—has remained consistently among the top trends for the last several days. Clicking on this particular trending topic produces a vast array of glorious canine bounty, from gourmet jerky treats and plush toys to paw-activated buttons that teach your dog to talk.

Dogs are going to have a great Christmas if Amazon’s trending searches are to be believed | DeviceDaily.com
[Screenshot via Amazon]

That Amazon users are going to such lengths to pamper their pooches this season is perhaps not a surprise. Survey data has for years shown that a growing slice of Americans enjoy buying holiday gifts for their pets, sometimes even in lieu of their coworkers and in-laws. One recent survey, conducted by OnePoll and MetLife Pet Insurance, found that 67% of pet owners were planning to get their pet a gift this year, and that most will spend around $50 to do so.

It’s unclear exactly how the trending topics in Amazon’s menu are determined. Reached for comment by Fast Company, an Amazon spokesperson had no immediate information about the feature or whether it was based on a user’s personal browsing history. However, the topics were all similar when we viewed them in a private browser. According to the spokesperson, the menu feature hasn’t been announced publicly and is likely still a test.

Either way, now is a pretty good time to mention that Christmas is less than a three days away, so if you were truly set on getting Fido that glow-in-the-dark Wobble Wag Giggle Ball, you’d better hurry.

Then again, it’s hard to imagine he’ll notice if it’s a few days late.

Fast Company

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