From effectively zero in 2005 to a record pace in 2026 — every figure below is sourced.
Shaded band: 2005–06, when NearMe Networks began registering NearMe domains.
Annual averages (0–100): 2012: 0.6 · 2014: 2.5 · 2016: 12.9 · 2018: 29.8 · 2020: 40.4 · 2021: 50.8 · 2022: 41.9 · 2023: 40.0 · 2024: 35.1 · 2025: 36.8 · 2026 YTD: 55.9. Source: Google Trends, pulled Nov 2, 2026.
| Period | Finding | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2004–2011 | Worldwide Google Trends interest in "near me" rounds to 0 (0–100 scale) — the period when NearMe domains were first registered (2005–06). | Google Trends, worldwide, pulled Nov 2, 2026 |
| 2011 → Mar 2015 | Search interest in "near me" grew 34X since 2011 and nearly doubled in the previous year. | Think with Google, "I Want to Go" Micro-Moments (2015) |
| Q4 2014 | 80% of "near me" searches came from mobile. | Think with Google (2015), Google Data Q4 2014 |
| 2015 | 50% of consumers who run a local search on a smartphone visit a store within a day; 18% of those searches lead to a purchase within a day. | Localogy, Apr 2015, reporting the Google study |
| H2 2015 vs. H2 2017 (U.S. mobile) | "can I buy"/"to buy" + near me: +500%. "near me today/tonight": +900%. "open" + "now" + "near me": +200%. "near me now": +150%. | Think with Google, Lisa Gevelber, May 15, 2018 |
| 2020 → 2021 (global) | Search interest in "open now near me" grew over 2x year over year. | Think with Google APAC retail report (2021) |
| 2021 | "open 24 hours near me" up 80%+; "live music near me" up 400%+ year over year. | YouGov, reporting Google data (2021) |
| 2026 | Annual average Google Trends interest year-to-date is 55.9 — on track for the highest yearly average on record (2021: 50.8). | Google Trends via pytrends, pulled Nov 2, 2026 |
Note: Google Trends shows relative interest, not actual search counts, and recent months may be rescaled. The 2018 Think with Google figures are U.S. mobile data.