July 15, 2010 14:15 ET

Consumer References for Air Conditioners Spike, Like the Temperature, in July

Ready-to-Buy Consumers Spend Big With Yellow Pages Advertisers When the Weather Gets Hot

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ--(Marketwire - July 15, 2010) -  With heat waves sweeping the country, Americans nationwide will turn to Yellow Pages local search tools this month to get a little relief. Over the course of the year, more than 32 million references will be made to air conditioning contractors and systems in Yellow Pages directories, with the highest number of references occurring in July, according to the Local Media Tracking Study commissioned by the Yellow Pages Association (YPA) and conducted by Burke.

"When consumers are ready to buy a product or service, they very often turn to a Yellow Pages local search resource, like an Internet Yellow Pages site or the print directory," said Larry Small, director of research at YPA. "Certainly in a month like this when we are seeing extreme heat in many regions across the country, consumers want to make a purchase right now."

The Burke data showed that the average amount spent by consumers who find an air conditioning provider in the "Air Conditioning" heading is $1,497 -- that's significantly higher than the average of $440 for all Yellow Pages categories.

Consumers also tend to look at more ads before making a purchase, likely because the purchase is usually a large one, says Small. "The average headings user looks at 4.9 ads, but when looking to purchase an A/C systems, users shopped around a bit more, looking at an average of 5.4 ads."

Because air conditioning equipment is an infrequent purchase, most consumers are in a search mode when shopping. Fifty-six percent of Yellow Pages users either have no company name or multiple names in mind when looking at the heading, providing an opportunity for advertisers to influence consumers' decisions about where to purchase. Moreover, 70 percent of shoppers end up doing business with an establishment that they have never used before.

Consumers in Southern Region Comprise Nearly Two-Thirds of References

Those most likely to reference the air conditioning contractors and systems are those living in the South Census region (65 percent) followed by the Midwest (13 percent), West (12 percent) and Northeast (10 percent).

Hot Weather Drives More References than Cool Weather

Data also show that hot weather is a larger driver than cool weather to Yellow Pages directories. While heating contractors receive more references annually (49.5 million), July sees more references than both November and December -- the most popular months for heating searches.

For more information on Yellow Pages headings, visit: http://www.ypassociation.org or http://www.insideyp.org.

About The Yellow Pages Association
The Yellow Pages Association (YPA) (http://www.ypassociation.org and http://www.insideyp.org) is the largest trade organization of a print and digital media industry valued at more than $27 billion worldwide ($12 billion in the U.S.). Association members include Yellow Pages publishers, certified marketing representatives (CMRs), and associate members (a group of industry stakeholders that include Yellow Pages advertisers, vendors, and suppliers).