by Yahoo Finance UK has rounded up the most searched companies of the year, from ethical fashion retailers to tech giants.
These are the businesses that kept people interested during 2023.
Vinted
Fashion resale app Vinted has been at the heart of the boom in ethical shopping this year as consumers look for bargains and more sustainable options to fill their wardrobes.
Despite the increase in interest, amid pressure on finances and high interest rates, the company is still making losses. Reports from November indicated that the private company was looking to provide value to its shareholders by selling shares. It was valued at €3.5bn (£3bn, $3.8bn) in the 2021 funding round.
Their fortunes may change in the coming years, however, as the global second-hand clothing market is expected to double by 2027 – three times faster than the overall market, according to a recent report by ThredUp, a consignment and thrift online. The market is currently worth $177bn.
Temu
Second on the list is Temu, another consumer-oriented shopping app that offers mass-produced products at a discount.
The company was on a marketing offensive so you might recognize the name from web-based ads. It is currently the second most downloaded app in the UK and US with over 100 million downloads in the US and Europe since January.
Yandex (YNDX)
Perhaps confusingly, Yandex – primarily a search engine – was one of the trending searches on the Google search engine in 2023.
The Russian-based company claims to host more than half of its search traffic originating from Russia. The company offers data management, self-driving cars, AI and online advertising space, among other services.
Shopify (SHOP)
Nasdaq-listed Shopify (^IXIC) had a good year, with the online shopping platform’s revenue rising 25% year-on-year to $1.7bn in the third quarter.
Most of this growth came from its commerce solutions, which generate revenue from merchandise sales and Shopify Payments.
Despite this, it was not profitable, so it is likely that the company will aim to turn this around going into 2024.
Open AI
Between experts warning of the day of the fake AI and Sam Altman being uniformly dismissed by his own board only to return days later, it’s been one of OpenAI’s biggest years yet.
The company, which makes chatbot software ChatGPT, is currently at a crossroads, with arguments simmering over its non-profit status.
It is clear that it will continue to be a major player in the development of AI from 2024.
Revolution
Fintech’s ambition to move into a “super app” continued this year after launching several new features in 2022, including an in-app chat function.
As its user base has grown to almost 8 million customers, the struggle remains in its mission to obtain a UK banking licence, which it has been seeking since 2021.
Read more: How London-listed stocks performed in 2023
Its auditors BDO raised concerns earlier this year about the completeness and occurrence of a significant portion of Revolut’s revenue, specifically highlighting £477m in potential misstatements and IT control problems.
In mid-2023, investor Molten Ventures reduced the book value of its stake in Revolut by 40%, following a similar decision by asset manager Schroders in April.
The fintech has a lot to prove going into 2024.
Air Up
Air Up was the cheeky face of trendy drinks bottles in 2023, with a gimmick that the drinker smells manufactured when they take a sip of water.
Like Temu, ads were ubiquitous on the internet this year. As Wired’s consumer review scathingly puts it: “If these ads got you curious, let me save you some time and money: You can easily recreate the Air Up experience by sipping some water while Glade lemon-scented plug drip.”
The company says the bottle uses “patented Scentaste technology,” whatever that means.
Snapchat saw a significant second-half surge in its share price as it saw an influx of paid users as a sign of demand for new features.
Read more: How to avoid falling into debt over Christmas
As of December, it said it had 7 million subscribers to its Snapchat+ offering, which gives users early or exclusive access to features on its social media app, including AI tools.
These tools give users the option to change images with wording prompts. This model is its main activity to generate income other than advertising.
Never a dull moment at Elon Musk-owned Tesla, facing major price cuts in key markets, he made deals with Ford and brought out his long-awaited Cybertruck in 2023.
If you owned Tesla stock in January, your money in it would have more than doubled by Dec. 18, too, as it rose from about $113 per share to $253.
DAZN
Sports media platform DAZN appears to be one of the streaming winners of 2023 as it was one of its most popular search terms.
It has been under pressure to perform this year after sliding to an operating loss of $1.3bn (£1.1bn) for 2022, due to huge costs associated with acquiring rights to games and streaming games.
During 2023, advertising has increased, subscription models have changed, and staff have been reduced to try to balance the books.
See: Tesla brand hurt by Elon Musk’s antics: Tesla investor
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