Brand consideration has become a key pastime for consumers. For over half of the population studied in this paper by Initiative (pdf), – 52% of the interviewees said they enjoy searching online for a wide range of brands and products. This varies by category: 29% of consumers enjoy searching for shampoo brands, but this leaps to 66% for cars. And it varies by country: the Chinese are the most likely to search for brand information, followed by the Spanish. Some consumers told us they simply enjoyed searching for information and opinion about brands. Across the globe, nearly half of consumers – 45% – told they are spending more time than ever when considering their choice of products. This rises to 60% for mobile phones.