A Direct Marketing Agency - Helping Brands Acquire and Retain Customers

The demise of catalogs that was predicted with the rise of e-commerce hasn't happened...and we believe the catalog is not only still alive, but is thriving.

My associate, Dave Larson, wrote in his blog last week that he received an eBay catalog in his mailbox and was impressed with the quality image it conveyed. This mailing is an example of the growing use of catalogs among online retailers (Amazon.com, Eziba, RedEnvelope), who see their Web sites as strong for taking orders, but weak in reaching new customers...especially those who are not frequent online shoppers.

Increasing numbers of online companies have been entering the"old-fashioned" offline environment that they once derided as being irrelevant. Many online sellers are acknowledging that, as good as their sites might be at processing orders, they are still too slow, too flat and too static to convey the companies' brand messages as effectively as a catalog can.

For a lot of people, the thought of browsing a site is boring. The beauty of the photos in a catalog is much stronger than what the Web can be right now. Catalogs can present merchandise in an inspiring and attractive way, giving shoppers new ideas. Looking through a catalog provides an opportunity to find just the right thing when the shopper isn't sure what she's looking for.

Once a decision has been made about an item, however, customers are increasingly likely to make the actual purchase online or at the brick-and-mortar store. Online purchasing is seen to offer advantages in saving time and managing budget.

The catalog is a major driver of online traffic and purchasing and is becoming an increasingly more important part of the mix for many succesful marketers. Long live catalogs!