Catalogs Continue As Key Retail Revenue Driver

Print catalogs still top retailers' marketing options in an omnichannel world, notes a recent post by Megan Conley, staff writer for Bigcommerce, an online shopping platform provider. Print catalogs are a big revenue driver for omnichannel operations, she argues, noting that 2014 consumers who received catalogs spent an average of $850 per year on catalog purchases, and that 31% of shoppers have a catalog with them when they make an online purchase, according to retail consultancy Kurt Salmon. In all, about 90 million Americans make purchases from catalogs per Direct Marketing Association data, and the number of catalogs mailed in the U.S. has increased 60% from 2007. That's one reason many major retailers have revived interest in their mailing lists, and Conley cites some well-known names: J.Crew, Patagonia, Restoration Hardware, Anthropologie, Athleta, West Elm, Crate & Barrel, Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney, Bonobos, Sak’s Fifth Avenue and Chico’s. Catalogs also help identify the best customers and push them to use omnichannel outlets, increasing brand loyalty and awareness, she notes. She quotes Craig Elbert, Bonobos’s vice president of marketing: "We found that the catalog allowed us to tell a fuller narrative about the brand and our products in a way that we were struggling to do online. In all, our catalog customers tend to spend more. And our catalog customers who make purchases at our brick-and-mortar stores are our best customers overall." But many of the new generation of catalogs do look different from predecessors. They have become less product- and sales-oriented in favor of an aesthetic, lifestyle publication look. Susy Korb, chief marketing officer of Anthropologie, recently told the New York Times: "We don’t call it a catalog; we call it a journal. Of course, we’re trying to sell clothes and accessories, but it’s more to inspire and engage." For more, see the business2community re-post: http://www.business2community.com/marketing/direct-marketing-brand-association-and-revenue-why-a-catalog-might-be-your-next-best-marketing-bet-01283212