I call BS on that. People don't magically stop consuming just because they don't get ads shoved in their faces all the time. I block ads everywhere and haven't really seen an ad in years, but I still sometimes buy useless shit I don't need. It turns out search engines and price directories do a pretty good job of finding useless shit when you actively seek it out. As long as there is a demand for things, people will find it and buy it.