Print catalogs are alive and well and should be part of the marketing mix of any multi-product, multi-channel marketer.  Catalogs definitely have a place in today’s marketing mix, and this is why I think so:

• 2012 study by American Catalog Mailers Association finds that in 2012:
  • 66% of the people surveyed look at the printed catalogs they receive
  • 58% of the group look at them as soon as they get them
  • 46% of them find them “very or extremely” useful
  • 92% have made a purchase and 50% within a month of receipt
• Key Influence Factors (a survey by Baynote, personalized customer experience solutions provider) reveals:
  • Google Search (with a product photo) was the #2 influencer for online purchases
    • Catalogs are the #2 influencer on in-store purchases with 21%
      • Also noted, catalogs are a stronger influencer than social media or mobile for influencing in-store purchases
    • Online ratings = 33% online reviews 24%
  • No Surprise – social channels are more influential for (ages 25-34) but catalogs are more influential for the (45+)

The survey was administered to 1000 people, all of whom had a smartphones. It was also noted that 54.6% had tablets and male/female ratio was 50/50. Only people who made 4 or more purchases and spent at least $250 were interviewed. The results are within 95% confidence factor following statistical significance testing.

This means that paper catalogs are definitely influencing in-store sales for a large audience, more powerfully than social media and stronger than mobile.

• In June 2012 Epsilon did surveys of U.S. and Canadian consumers. A 15 minute questionnaire was administered to people 18 and older. The results were published in report called Channel Preference for Both the Mobile and Non-Mobile Consumer. Among the results:
  • People get emails they never open (73%) and too many in one day (67%)
  • But – - they enjoy checking their mailbox for postal mail (62%)
• When asked why they liked offline promotions they said:
  • They can read it when they want to (73%)
  • They can refer back to it when they want to (61%)
  • They can take it to a different place (40%) and it is more private than email (36%)

People like mail and they like catalogs because they are familiar, easy to use to get information about goods and services and don’t require being logged on to anything.  Of  the Internet Top 500 over 35 of the top 100 have catalogs. That should tell us all something.

Victoria’s Secret is #19 of the Top 500 and they have 1000 stores and mail over 375,000,000 catalogs a year. What do they know that everyone else should consider? They know catalogs position their brand and their products, they drive sales online and at retail and they are worth the investment.

There is another indicator of whether companies are counting on catalogs in the marketing mix. Catalog Blow In programs seem to be alive and well.

A Blow In program allows an advertiser to pay a catalog mailer to put an advertising piece, usually post card sized, inside the catalog. This is done by blowing the item into the catalog during the binding/mailing process and costs the advertiser about $35 per 1000 pieces.

These programs seem to be doing well, based on the number of them available and the quantities of catalogs being mailed. Just a quick review of the programs available from a single source, and there are several, reflect an inventory of over 620,000,000 catalogs being mailed in 2013, or about 3 for each of the 110 million households in the UDS.

These programs are used by advertisers such as Bose Corporation, Dish Network, Guthy-Renker, Oreck, Publishers Clearing House, Hoveround and plenty of others.

The print catalog is a whole different world than the digital catalog.  DWS Associates has the experience and expertise to help you plan, launch and run successful catalogs.  Visit our website for more on our catalog marketing tools and services.