Majority of Consumers Rely On The Yellow Pages

Yellow Pages

February 2009 -- Forrester Research’s report, Is Hyperlocal Hype or Happening?, examines the question of whether going "hyperlocal"— serving the information needs of local neighborhoods or communities — offers a viable future for media companies online.  One of the findings is a “disconnect between the source consumers rely on for local news and information versus those they rely on for business listings.”
 

When asked, “which resource(s) do you use to find listings for local businesses?” the majority of consumers say they still rely on the Yellow Pages as their primary source for local business listing information.  Forrester finds that for 74% of offline consumers and 66% of online consumers, the Yellow Pages directories are the preferred choice for locating goods and services.
 

The report also finds Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) results are almost identical to Internet search engines with 31% of online consumers using Internet Yellow Pages to find listings for local businesses versus 34% using search engines.

About:  Forrester Research analyzed data from the North American Technographics® Media, Marketing, Consumer Technology, Healthcare, And Automotive Benchmark Survey, Q3 2008, in the development of this report.

Sources:  Inside YP,  Forrester Ranks Yellow Pages High Among the ‘Hyperlocal’, February 2, 2009 and Forrester Research, Is Hyperlocal Hype Or Happening?, January 27, 2009.