Seasonal variation in lifestyle behavior in Poland: Google searches and market sales analysis

Background 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. Methods Data 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. Results Six 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. Conclusion The 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.