If You Want to Know What's Happening On Main Street, Watch What America Searches

UNIONDALE, N.Y., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- National economic indices and statistics reveal glimpses of recovery in the U.S. driven largely by small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), engines of our nation's growth.  Yellowbook, a company that has been connecting consumers -- and their purchasing intent -- with local SMBs for 80 years, can provide valuable insights on a current basis into trends that impact Main Street.

Evaluation of millions of local searches made on yellowbook.com each month reveals strong correlations between Yellowbook local search data and national economic trends across categories as diverse as restaurants, housing, and credit services.  This search data enables Yellowbook to offer specific information about what consumers are searching for and may ultimately purchase.  

"Yellowbook.com local search data reveals where Americans intend to spend their money, and this  insight is valuable for understanding  how local businesses are faring and the trends impacting Main Street," said Joe Walsh, CEO of Yellowbook.  

What America Searched: Trends In 2009

• Green Shoots of Economic Recovery

As economists reported on "green shoots of recovery" in April '09, Yellowbook.com saw increases in searches for many sectors including mortgages and real estate consultants indicating increased activity in the real estate market.   Retail spending also stood out, showing strong gains in searches for electronics, department stores, furniture and similar outlets.

• Consumers Pull Back on Dining Out

In early 2009, yellowbook.com data revealed a significant drop in searches across nearly all restaurant categories, mirroring the bottoming-out of the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Performance Index (RPI).  Since then, the RPI has fluctuated in the face of uncertain economic times while restaurant searches on yellowbook.com continue to stagnate.

• Consumer Searches Jump During 2009 Holiday Season

As the 2009 holiday spending season rolled around, The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index slumped to a new low in October.  However, anyone tracking yellowbook.com search data would have witnessed a jump in searches preceding the eventual success of the holiday season.  November and December brought robust gains to the Consumer Confidence Index as well as yellowbook.com searches for retail items, travel and other indicators of consumer confidence.

• Consumer Debt Fluctuating

Outstanding consumer credit soared in early 2009 as consumers took on excessive debt to cope with high unemployment and poor economic conditions.  In the spring, yellowbook.com noticed an uptick in searches for debt consolidation, adjustment and counseling, indicating that consumers were beginning to address their debt problems.  Subsequently, debt fell and debt-related categories tapered off soon after.  Later in the year as debt rose again, we saw the same pattern of increased searches for debt maintenance followed by a drop in total debt.

Yellowbook will release new data on a monthly and quarterly basis to provide ongoing insights into consumer trends impacting Main Street.  

About Yellowbook

Since 1930, Yellowbook has focused on a simple goal -- connecting consumers with local businesses. Today, Yellowbook is a national leader in local search and advertiser content, managing a comprehensive online and print product portfolio that provides users easy access to local business information and advertisers a single source for cost effective media programs. The Yellowbook Network, anchored by yellowbook.com, reaches millions of users via computers and mobile devices. WebReach, Yellowbook's fully managed search engine advertising program, places customers' advertising on the major internet search engines. In print, Yellowbook publishes directories in 48 states and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit yellowbook.com.

SOURCE Yellowbook