Old-fashioned paper page views will be ringing up sales along with digital page views this holiday season. According to a new survey by Kurt Salmon, a global retail consultancy, 86% of survey respondents bought an item after first seeing it in a printed catalog. More than half of online shoppers said they browse catalogs, and almost a third who make an Internet purchase have a catalog on hand when they click “buy,” per the survey. And the catalog impact isn't limited by age group: Shoppers between the ages of 18 and 24 are as likely to use one as those between 45 and 54. In a recent article in Business Week magazine, Artemis Berry, vice president at Shop.org, the digital group of the National Retail Foundation, points out that printed catalogs retain a key role in retail marketing in part because of more efficient mailing list targeting and distribution. Today's improved data use ensures that a Victoria’s Secret catalog is not mailing to the homes of single men, for example. For more on catalog trends, see http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-07/why-the-analog-catalog-still-drives-digital-sales
David Kanter, President and CEO of AccuList, is a list brokerage and direct marketing expert. For more than 30 years, he has helped companies and nonprofit organizations achieve their marketing goals. With David's Direct Marketing Forum, he shares, and invites others to share, helpful direct-marketing industry news, trends, analyses, resources, and tips for success. Please read our Comment Policy.