It appears people still let their “fingers do the walking” while making purchases, according to the people the Yellow Pages.

In fact, despite the economic slowdown businesses of all sizes are turning to the Yellow Pages as they stock up on gear they need, searching under the Yellow Pages "Office Supplies" heading more than 29 million times annually, with highest levels coming in March.

"In March, businesses typically begin kicking back into gear and start thinking about their supply needs for the upcoming year," said Scott Cullen, editorial director for OfficeSOLUTIONS magazine.

The fact is illustrated by the example of people stocking up on supplies for office articles by checking out the Yellow Pages for suitable products, leads and references. According to the report, the most popular articles searches are for computers, computer parts and peripherals, tables, chairs, notebooks, pens, visiting cards and multi-purpose printers.

According to the Yellow Pages, 91 percent of stores, warehouses or retail outlets where products are finally bought are mentioned in the related referenced Yellow Pages ad. In terms of the products, 65 percent are used for office use.  

Statistics also reveal that age groups are generally between 25 to 49 years old and include college graduates living in homes where the cumulative income of household members is at least $61,000 per annum.

"This demographic information is consistent with employees who would be referencing this heading on behalf of small to midsize companies," Cullen said.

"Office supply retailers know that Yellow Pages advertising costs less per buyer influenced than any other advertising medium. The average return on investment received from local display ads at the office supplies heading is over $6 of sales revenue and $2 profit for every $1 spent on advertising," said Larry Small, director of research for the Yellow Pages Association.

The fact that  the Yellow Pages is able to sustain itself in the face of economic adversity could be considered encouraging news for the print media industry. However, there remains a major shift toward Internet related searches and the day of the newspaper might be gone for good.

TMC (News - Alert) has done fairly exhaustive and detailed reportage on this front. One TMC article explores the possibility of newspapers going extinct. The logic being simple – if a print edition is charged for, and same thing is also printed free on the Internet, consumers often opt for the free stuff. Another TMC report cites “Newspaper convention cancelled amid industry woes”.