The Labor Party’s Federal Election win has highlighted the party’s efforts to allay Australians’ concerns about tariff changes, the rising cost-of-living and the state of the nation, according to Captify, the largest holder of onsite search data outside the walled gardens.
The statistics revealed that Australians were most concerned about the US-led tariff trade wars, the cost-of-living crisis, particularly grocery prices and interest rates, and the state of the nation as they headed to the polls.
The Labor Party’s win at polling booths followed strong positive search sentiment for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government in the seven day lead-up to the election, which reached 66.5%, a big boost of 16.9% from 49.6% in late April, and up from 44.5% at the end of January. Positive sentiment was particularly strong among small business owners, rising to 46% in April from 43% in January, as well as high-net-worth voters, who also recorded 46% positive sentiment in April.
‘Election debate’
Positive sentiment had significantly increased among Victorians and those living in the nation’s capital in the days before the election, with 54% and 50% of people respectively, showing their support for Albanese’s leadership.
Australians were paying close attention to the party leaders’ views on everything from international trade to grocery prices in the lead-up to the election, with strong search correlation between “election”, “election debate”, and key areas of concern.
Captify’s insights revealed that interest rates remained the most important issue for Australians as they cast their votes, with searches up nearly five times compared to the previous month, along with searches for “stock market,” (up 4.6 times), “jobs” (up 3.4 times), “Medicare” (up three times) and “immigration” (up 1.5 times).
US President Donald Trump’s confirmation that he would discuss tariff changes with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave the Labor Party a fresh vote of confidence at the polls.
The data reveals a strong correlation between searches for “election” and “tariff trade wars” (48.8%), indicating Australians were seeking answers about the impact of the US’s controversial tariff regime as they headed to polling booths.
Captify has been analysing onsite search data around the Federal Election since it was announced on March 28, using its unique and rich insights to gauge the temperature of the nation.
Jaclyn Hadida, Captify’s Managing Director, Australia, said: “Our onsite search data predicted a Labor Party win at the polls, with strong positive sentiment for the Albanese government recorded for months leading up to the election.
“It’s interesting to see the issues that have shaped the election, particularly rising concerns about the US tariff regime and its potential impact on trade and domestic product prices. Captify’s Search Intelligence has played a critical role in providing a comprehensive view of Australians’ perspectives as they headed to the polling booth. Our data was particularly valuable in providing in-the-moment, unprompted insights into the issues that mattered to voters.”
Top image: Anthony Albanese