Google’s Impact in London 2020

Key Facts

In 2020, Google’s core search and advertising tools helped support an estimated £1.3 billion in economic activity for over 160,000 businesses in London.

Over 50,000 businesses have started selling online for the first time as a result of the pandemic.

73% of London residents under 30 have used Google Search to look for a job in the last year.

By helping them find information faster and collaborate easier, Google Search and Google Workspace are saving London workers an estimated 126 million hours a year.

Since the start of the pandemic, over half of London residents have used Google Search to find out if local shops or businesses are open.

Introduction

In 2020, the Internet was more important than ever: keeping us connected and informed, entertained and productive. From checking whether your local shop was open to keeping up to date with changing lockdown rules, or trying out a new fitness video to discussing work plans with colleagues, we turned to Google services to keep us going.

In this short report, Google commissioned us to quantify how their products helped British workers, businesses, content creators, and families in London throughout 2020.

In total, by making it easier for them to connect with customers, we estimate that Google’s core search and advertising tools helped provide an estimated £1.3 billion in economic activity in 2020 for over 160,0000 businesses in London.

Economic activity supported by Google in Central London by Parliamentary constituency (£ mn)

Economic activity supported by Google in Greater London by Parliamentary constituency (£ mn)

What is your favourite Google product?¹

Youtube - provides the most entertainment and is better than most competitors.

Man, 22

Google Docs because you can access and edit documents online and it is automatically saved.

Woman, 24

My favourite product is Google Search because it enables me to find information about diverse topics very easily. I use it mainly for research purposes and it has helped achieve good grades in college.

Woman, 20

Google Drive. I can store everything there and sync up nicely with everything.

Man, 39

Google Maps - I use it all the time, I am not sure if I could live without it these days. Especially like how interactive it is with transportation information and a whole lot of other things.

Man, 42

Probably YouTube, as I have learnt a lot of new things and skills, have been entertained and can keep up with the latest news and trending videos all in one place.

Woman, 28

Helping Workers Get Things Done

Workers in London agreed that online tools had helped keep them productive:

43%

of London workers say their job would be impossible or difficult without access to an online office suite

78%

of London workers believe that they were as or more productive doing their job now, as compared to the time before Covid-19

When we asked how hard their job would be to do without access to core online services:

44%

of London workers say their job would be impossible or difficult without access to a search engine

34%

of London workers say their job would be impossible or difficult without access to video chat

43%

of London workers say they have used Google Search multiple times a day for their job

A 2015 Forrester Consulting study estimated that the deployment of Google Workspace, including tools like Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Meet, Docs, Sheets and Slides had the potential to save employees between 15 minutes to two hours per week at work, in more efficient collaboration.²

Based upon this, and other research on the time saved by Google Search,³ we estimate that in a given year, Google services could be saving workers in London over 126 million hours. That is the equivalent of producing a £5.9 billion improvement in productivity for the British economy.⁴

Helping businesses adapt during lockdown

With Covid-19 forcing many physical stores to have to repeatedly shut, online sales and advertising became ever more important in 2020. Independent estimates suggest that the share of online retail increased from 19% to 30% as a result of the pandemic. ⁵

Based upon our business survey, we estimate that:

50000

Over 50,000 London businesses have started selling online for the first time as a result of the pandemic

49000

Over 49,000 London businesses have started advertising online for the first time

53000

Over 53,000 London businesses have started taking online payments for the first time

At the same time, tools like Google Search, Google Maps and Google My Business helped keep London’s residents connected with their local shops, and up to date with who was open. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic:

53%

of London residents have used Google Search and 34% Google Maps to find out if local shops or businesses are open

31%

of London residents have use Google Maps to check for changed opening hours for local businesses

Other recent polling by Censuswide has found that over two thirds of small businesses in London plan to expand either nationally or internationally in 2022. Of those businesses expanding for the first time, 29% say that increased uptake of digital following lockdown is a factor in their decision to expand, and 27% the opportunities created by digital platforms.

By helping businesses shift to online sales for the first time during 2020, we estimate that Google helped support £948 million in economic activity.

In our wider business poll of the South East, we found that:

60%

of businesses said that online search was an important way that customers found their business, second only behind word of mouth

27%

of businesses said that Google Docs / Workspace were useful or important in helping their business adapt to remote work

65%

of businesses said that they had use Google Search to keep up to date with the latest government advice

24%

of businesses said they are likely to continue selling their products or services online after the economy and society return to normal

Helping Families in Everyday Life

Throughout 2020, Britons turned to Google services to help keep them informed, up to date, and safe. Google Search was one of the most important platforms through which Britons kept up to date with official advice and adapt to live during the pandemic:

54%

of London residents have used Google Search to keep up to date with the latest government advice

73%

of London residents under 30 have used Google Search to look for a job in the last year

27%

of London residents have used Google Maps to plan a walk or other outdoor leisure activity since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic

40%

of London Android users downloaded the NHS Covid-19 app

37%

of London residents under 30 have used YouTube to watch fitness videos

In our polling, we found that Google products are now essential household tools - helping us around the home, learn new skills and keep learning:

34%

of London Google Search users have used it in the last month to learn a new skill

47%

of London YouTube users have used it in the last month to get help with cooking and 41% to get help with DIY tasks

36%

of London Google Maps users have used it in the last month to look for something new to try

Google’s model, free at the point of use, makes it possible for everyone, no matter their background, to benefit from the power of digital search and online information. This information can be incredibly valuable. The consumer surplus of a product looks at how much it is worth to a user - in other words, how much you would have to compensate somebody for them to voluntarily give it up.

In 2020, we estimate that Google’s core services are creating a consumer surplus worth a median of £50 per person per month in London.

Vida Bakery

When Daniela Ortega couldn’t find sweet treats that suited her vegan and gluten-free diet, she started making her own — adapting over 50 recipes for cakes and cookies and trialling them on friends and family. They were such a hit that she was soon taking a large number of paid orders, so Daniela joined forces with Vanessa Miquilena to launch Vida Bakery.

The company started in 2015 as a pop-up shop at markets and fairs, before the pair opened their first store in 2018, in east London’s Brick Lane. The allergy-friendly bakery was an overnight success, with Daniela launching her own YouTube channel sharing baking tips to support the brand. The women opened a second store in London’s King’s Cross in January 2020, and a third store in Soho was in the pipeline when the pandemic hit — they were forced to close the two stores, put the third on hold, and pivot to online sales. Vanessa worked on setting up a website in less than 24 hours, learning to use Google Ads and amending the company’s Google My Business account to keep customers up to date.

“Our online store launched in March 2020 — the same day the shops were forced to close,” explains Daniela. “We only had a simple holding website, so Vanessa put together a new version overnight, giving the option to buy our products online. And it was a smart move because we were one of the first to do it. We had over 300 orders that first weekend — I couldn’t believe it

“We turned to Google Ads to increase our chances in what was now becoming a saturated market. It helped us not only reach customers who wanted cupcakes and cookies but also the allergy-friendly market,” explains Vanessa. “Adding Google Ads to our marketing strategy was integral, and being able to target niche Search terms around allergies was super-useful in stretching our spend and reaching our target audience. I’m now running campaigns for both online orders and to drive visitors to the shop — we get a lot of customers through Google Ads.”

Marketing through Google Ads also helped Vida Bakery to reach new customers outside London. The bakery now delivers U.K.-wide and is in the process of expanding into Europe.

“Adding Google Ads to our marketing strategy was integral, and being able to target niche Search terms around allergies was super-useful in stretching our spend and reaching our target audience. I’m now running campaigns for both online orders and to drive visitors to the shop — we get a lot of customers through Google Ads.”

VANESSA MIQUILENA, CO-OWNER, VIDA BAKERY

How we quantified Google’s impact in London

In this paper, we used a range of different methods to quantify the economic impact and helpfulness of Google Search, YouTube, Android and other Google products:

Building on the precedent of previous Google impact reports from markets including the UK, the United States, and Europe, we used traditional economic modelling built upon third-party estimates of Google market size in the UK, and standard returns on investment (ROI) to measure the economic activity driven by Google’s core products.
Working with independent providers Dynata and Kantar, we conducted extensive polling of a representative sample of over 5,000 individuals representing every region in the UK.
As part of this, we ran a decided poll of 600 adults in London, weighting this by age and gender.
At the same time, we polled 1,000 senior business leaders from small, medium and large businesses, representing a range of different industries across the UK.

All polling numbers in this report are taken directly from our London poll, which in turn has been used to produce estimates of the consumer surplus and business productivity impact created by Google products in London.

In order to estimate the business benefits and economic impact of Google in London, we apportioned out our national estimate based upon:

London’s business demography, taken from ONS data
Relative use of Google advertising services by business size
Relative use of Google advertising services in the London region

To learn more about our modelling approach, please see the Methodology section in the national report’s appendix.

Public First is a member of the Market Research Society. The full tables for all the data used in this report is available to download from our website.

While Google commissioned this report from Public First, all economic estimates are derived from official, third party and Public First’s proprietary information.

Answers have been edited for clarity and grammar but are otherwise unchanged.
The Total Economic Impact of Google Apps for Work, Forrester Consulting, 2015
Economic Value of Google, Hal Varian, 2011
Public First estimate built upon Forrester Consulting (2015) and Varian (2011).
ONS