New research from adMarketplace, the native search advertising provider, takes a deep dive into consumer purchasing decisions and search behavior for products and brands — finding online ads are on the rise, regardless of generation. The company’s first-annual report called “The State of Search 2025,” aims to shed light on these consumer behaviors to help brands stay competitive, grow consumer bases and scale businesses.
According to the company’s findings, retailers must widen their scope to meet today’s consumers, looking beyond legacy search engine results pages.
Findings from adMarketplace’s survey of more than 1,000 American consumers suggested that modern consumers are searching outside of traditional search engines more than ever as they embrace native search experiences with 55 percent of respondents said that “the way they search for information about products or brands has changed over the last five years.”
The survey highlights a shift away from legacy search with consumers relying on product links on review sites and searching through alternative browsers as they enter the discovery phase of the shopping journey. Consumers are engaging with native search ads that are integrated on these platforms. While this was true across all generations, the authors of the report said that younger generations are leading the way in purchases made on “emerging channels” like TikTok Shop and buy now, pay later apps.
The authors of the report said that BNPL apps currently “provide an enormous opportunity for companies to reach consumers and must be considered in a brand’s media portfolio.” Fifty-one percent of survey respondents reported that they have used BNPL apps while 32 percent said that they use them often. Another 51 percent of U.S. consumers said they make purchases after finding a product on these BNPL apps within a few hours. Sixty percent of consumers added that they find BNPL apps helpful for discovering new brands and products.
Consumers also reported they often discover new products or brands through online ads (44 percent) while a third said they discover new products through search engines. This finding, according to the authors of the report, represents “an opportunity for brands to use open web channels to capture the attention of additional consumers.”
“Innovation and consumer choice are the driving factors powering a shift away from legacy search to what we call native search,” said Asher Feldman, vice president of analytics at adMarketplace. “For advertisers, this creates an exciting new ecosystem fueled by competition and transparency. This research can serve as a tool for advertisers to better understand the modern consumer journey and prioritize search experiences that are native to the increasingly diverse channels and platforms next-gen consumers use to search.”
Other key findings in the report include a look at how brands prioritize investments in innovations to keep search results relevant, accurate and timely. Just more than 40 percent of consumers said that they rely on receiving “relevant results” to find new products or brands when they are searching. This trend is predicted to continue.
“Consumer behavior is not the only thing that’s changing,” Feldman said. “The entire marketing mix for brands is evolving, and advertisers must diversify their media portfolios beyond traditional means to unlock incremental performance. A native search experience powered by search engine results and generative AI is the ideal state for search in 2025 and beyond. The brands who are quick to respond and adapt to this approach will be the power players in this exciting new native search ecosystem.”
When prompted to share how they would like the search experience to change, 38 percent of consumers said, “real-time search results that provide up-to-the-minute information,” 23 percent said “predictive search results that anticipate their news,” 20 percent said “greater use of AI-driven search engines” and 17 percent said “increased use of augmented reality features to virtually try products.”
The authors of the report concluded that for advertisers and brands, diversifying search media beyond legacy search engine results has become a necessity, further advising companies to adopt an open web channels approach for a better positioning to meet the purchasing behaviors driving sales.
