Similarweb: New Research Reveals the Fastest-Growing Digital Brands in the UK for 2022
A major new piece of research has revealed the fastest growing digital companies in the UK over 2022 and the potential consumer trends that underpinned their rise.
Data intelligence platform Similarweb has analysed desktop and mobile web traffic to brands and businesses in Britain to create its 2022 annual Digital 100 winners list ? the 10 fastest growing companies across 10 key consumer categories.
The categories and the winner from each are as follows:
- Automotive: IAAI, a second hand car and parts marketplace, took first place with 396.7% increased traffic in 2022.
- Beauty & Cosmetics: MAKEUP, a competitively priced beauty and fragrance retailer, took first place with 194.6% increased traffic in 2022.
- Business & Consumer Services: Attentive, a personalised text messaging service, took first place with 233.5% increased traffic in 2022.
- Consumer Electronics: HONOR, a leading provider of smart devices, took first place with 248.5% increased traffic in 2022.
- Fashion & Apparel: Catalove, a high-end fashion aggregator with personalised product suggestions, took first place with 2456.2% increased traffic in 2022.
- Financial Services: Shawbrook, a personal loan provider, took first place with 129.7% increased traffic in 2022.
- Food & Drink: Go Puff, a US grocery and fresh food delivery service, took first place with 293.3% increased traffic in 2022.
- Health & Fitness: Set For Set, a premier health and fitness educational resource, took first place with 291.5% increased traffic in 2022.
- News & Media: SussexWorld, a south of England focused digital newspaper, took first place with 1321.1% increased traffic in 2022.
- Travel: Trip, an online travel agent, took first place with 330.5% increased traffic in 2022.
Benjamin Serror, Chief Marketing Officer and Co-Founder at Similarweb, said about the list: "We've seen some exceptionally high levels of growth for many sites in the 2022 Digital 100 that may surprise most readers . At the same time, many unique brands and services really created a name for themselves in the UK market." Serror continued: "In a year where consumers were careful with every purchase they made, the winners of the Digital 100 demonstrated that they understood the market and delivered strong products and services."
Biggest Trends of 2022
Alongside identifying the fastest growing businesses of 2022, Similarweb analysts also took the time to understand the trends that forged the markets of 2022 and influenced the winners of the Digital 100.
Major trends identified by Similarweb analysts include:
- The rise of budget brands and second-hand shopping: With the cost-of-living crisis denting consumers' wallets, many turned to cheaper alternatives. Second-hand fashion stores, such as Laced (304% increase), proved popular among consumers.
- Transport was a pain point for consumers: With cars being essential for a great deal of workers and families, many consumers turned to DIY car repairs to ensure they maintained access to them during the cost of living crisis, with Trupart increasing traffic by 104% and PartSouq increasing traffic by 126%
- Ukraine-centric news: With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, news sites in the country and others covering the conflict grew exponentially. Key players include Live UA Map, which grew by 963%,, a digital map of events from the warzone, and Ukrainian online news source Pravda, which grew by 955%.
- Lipstick effect: While budget shopping is ruling the consumer markets, high quality, personalised services have still maintained a place in the market. Skin + Me, which grew by 69%, is a prime example, as they provide full consultation on skin care to match consumers with the right products for them.
- Automation in business: Tight wallets may also be a trend within the business space. Many winners within the Business & Consumer services category's area of focus was automating business processes, such as attentive, an automated and personalised messaging service, which grew by 233.5%.
"Unsurprisingly, the cost-of-living crisis and war in Ukraine are the key trends which defined the UK consumer markets for 2022" said Richard Robinson, Area Vice President UK & Northern Europe at Similarweb. "However, it's interesting to see how the economic crisis specifically has manifested beyond basic bargain hunting. Traffic to fashion reselling sites rose dramatically as people began selling old clothes to raise cash. Used car part sites also saw high increases in traffic as people were opting to fix their own cars to avoid using garages. In 2022, every penny really counted."
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About Similarweb
Similarweb is the most trusted platform for understanding online behaviour, used by millions of people every day to create insights and strengthen their knowledge of the digital world. We empower anyone ? from the curious individual to the enterprise.
Eligibility criteria
The rankings are based on industry categories Similarweb tracks on an ongoing basis, ranked based on year-over-year change in their total traffic for 2022 over 2021. To qualify for the UK ranking, a domain had to average at least 100,000 monthly views for 2022 and above 0 visits in January 2021.
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