Abstract
BackgroundDetection of the seasonal patterns of healthy and unhealthy behavior could be helpful for designing individual and population health interventions programs. This study investigates the seasonal variation in sales of common types of products in Poland and Polish Google queries related to healthy behavior.MethodsData of index sales from a large Polish retail store franchise, from January 2014 to August 2019, has been analyzed. The commercial data included twelve types of products. The interest of Google users was investigated using Google Trends statistics for the same period for six lifestyle-related topics. The seasonality was checked using time series analysis.ResultsSix of the consumer goods (dairy, ready-made meals, salty snacks, meats, beer, and cigarettes) were most commonly purchased in summer months, four (processed fish, food fats, wine, and alcohol 30%+) in December, and two (bread and sweets) in October. The lowest sales indexes were observed mostly in February. The interest in four topics that have been analyzed (“Diet,” “Dietitian,” “Weight loss,” and “Gym”), was highest in January, while interest in “Dietary supplements” was high in February, and “Running” in May. The search volume of the Google topics were the lowest in December.ConclusionThe purchase of food, drinks, and cigarettes, and the interest in information regarding different components of a healthy lifestyle has seasonal variation. New Year and Lent might be good periods to encourage healthy behavior. The motivation may decrease in summer and during Christmas.
Highlights
Detection of the seasonal patterns of healthy and unhealthy behavior could be helpful for designing individual and population health interventions programs
Longitudinal data of market sales and search engine queries could be useful in identifying the seasonal variation of lifestyle components
This study investigates the seasonal variation in sales of common types of products in Poland and the Polish Google queries related to healthy behaviors to identify periods during the year that may be optimal for lifestyle interventions
Summary
Detection of the seasonal patterns of healthy and unhealthy behavior could be helpful for designing individual and population health interventions programs. This study investigates the seasonal variation in sales of common types of products in Poland and Polish Google queries related to healthy behavior. Kamiński et al BMC Public Health (2021) 21:1516 frequently, to alert people at risk of the loss of motivation. Such knowledge may be useful for individuals practices and to design public health campaigns. Longitudinal data of market sales and search engine queries could be useful in identifying the seasonal variation of lifestyle components. Google is the most commonly used search engine [14], most of the studies that have investigated web queries process data from this engine [15]. The question is that do sales of consumer goods and interest in a healthy lifestyle have seasonal cycles
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