The latest recession indicator: more people are searching Google for “coupons” than for “Britney Spears.” And it’s not that Britney is getting less popular. By this measure, the recession began in March 2008. Check out the full time series, here.
(Hat tip: Google’s Chief Economist, Hal Varian, via my co-author Bo Cowgill.)
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Interestingly, ‘voucher’ also beats Brtiney Spears in the UK – also since march.
While individuals using the word “coupon” in a search could be looking for various things, those searching the term “Britney Spears” are looking for just one thing. (I’ll stop there.)
I am literally listening to Prince’s Sign o’ the Times album. Specifically the song, Sign o’ the Times. I do think that is some sort of sign.
Google has a Chief Economist? And does that mean there are also assistants and the like?
Wait a minute, is Google making software to automate government policy?
but what about the changes in the population of coupons? It could be driven by new technology available to retailers, not just the crisis….
MT
Replace Britney with “sale” and the results are interesting.
“Coupon” peaks each December, while “sale” bottoms – except in 2008…
I think your logic is flawed. People in Malaysia won’t be searching for ‘coupon’ but they may be searching for ‘Brittany Spears’. So you should probably limit your search to english speaking nations (and even then there are differences like ‘voucher’ for some areas). Using the filter to limit to the U.S., ‘coupon’ has been ahead since 2004 (with the occasional spike).
As a parent, I don’t “get” this idea of ‘rewarding’ being a some-time enjoyment to be traded off against minute to minute enjoyments. It’s more of a constant feeling of purpose and belonging, rather than a only a gush of feeling at a graduation or wedding.
Just about any source of enjoyment has dull moments or even less-than neutral moments associated with it. Be it rearing children, or, say, boating (with all it’s where to store it, gotta fix that, gotta get it to the lake, gotta wait for the friend of a friend that wants to come along…).
I think the answers to these “happiness” questions have a lot to do with how they are posed, how contentment vs. high moments are invoked in them, and things like that. As a parent I can completely understand how burdens and conflicts and complications can, especially through certain phases of childrearing, can make for a happiness index less than a childless person. But that does not negate the overall scope of happiness.