The Evolution of Information Services, How U.S. Consumers Find Phone Numbers: A Consumer Research Report

This research report presents the key findings from a national consumer research project. It outlines which media consumers choose first when they need a phone number. Included in this study were 411 services, Free DA services, Internet directories, search engines, social networking sites and asking friends for telephone numbers. This report defines which characteristics determine the source used by consumers for telephone number lookups. A segmentation emerges that defines which media consumers chose based on their situation and key consumer characteristics.

This Report Features:

• 109 Charts and Tables (See Table of Charts & Figures)
• 150 Pages that provide a keen understanding of consumer behaviors when looking for telephone numbers and how the market is shifting
• Usage statistics for how often U.S. consumers use key media including traditional 411, yellow pages and free directory assistance/enquiry services
• Identification of the heaviest users of each type of media
• Specific, actionable recommendations for service providers of all types

Who Needs This Report?

• All directory assistance/enquiry providers
• All providers of free DA/DQ products
• Yellow pages publishers
• Providers of Internet directory services
• Search engine companies
• Technology suppliers to the industry
• Venture capital firms and investors in the information services arena

Key Findings:

U.S. consumers are looking up more numbers from more sources each year. The mix, in terms of the sources of those numbers, is changing quickly, This change is driven by technological innovation and changes in how and where we place calls. For each situation consumers were given the option to say that they did not lookup telephone numbers in that circumstance. What is clear is that the ability to now place calls from virtually any location using a mobile phone has significantly altered what sources consumers turn to for information. More than any other factor, whether or not a consumer was physically mobile when the needed a telephone number drove which media they selected first. Age, where consumers are physically located and what they are doing at the time all play key roles in determining which media consumers chose first.

• U.S. consumers look up 58 billion telephone numbers each year from a broad range of sources
• Total telephone number lookups will increase by 22 percent over the next five years
• The mix of media chosen by consumers will change significantly during this time with traditional print media decreasing and Internet-base services and free directory assistance/enquiry services gaining significantly
• Consumers who are physically mobile choose voice-based services (traditional as well as free directory assistance/enquiry services) as their first source of a telephone number lookup
• Consumers who are at home and need a business telephone number turn to print yellow pages more often than any other source of a telephone number lookup
• Adults between 25 and 34 lookup significantly more telephone numbers from all sources than any other age group
• Asking a friend is the only source of a mobile telephone number lookup today. A relatively high incidence of younger consumers asking friends for telephone numbers may point to an opportunity to included mobile numbers (in a privacy protected format) in information services products.