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Can Print Catalogs Survive the Web?
1. I love to look for stuff to buy that will solve my life's problems?
I can sneak some time in my favorite chair, coffee in hand, and a well-designed catalog with goodies to buy, I am in heaven or as close I'm going to get.
2. I like to shop online.
For the most part, I'd rather shop online. It's faster, cheaper and you don't have to talk to anyone. Amazon.com is my new best friend around the holidays. Just because I don't have to go to the malls which in a good year I never go to. I buy all my computer gizmos at macmall.com and clubmac.com and LLBean.com and TheCompanyStore.com are a staple in my closet.
3. I am a Geek.
Now you'd think, being the techno-geek I am, I'd be pleased that many of my favorite catalogs and stores have gone online with ecommerce. However, while I have visited and used their web sites many times, I prefer the good-old fashioned 800 number. My friend, a far bigger geek (he's an engineer, need I say more?), looks at the catalogs in his recliner then launches his browser to order online. makes me wonder if we'll still be receiving printed catalogs in the mail five or ten years from now.
4. Relationships Wanted
Internet retail sales are booming and are poised to hit $20.3 billion in North America according to the Gartner Group. But direct merchants are doing well too. According to the Direct Marketing Association, total U.S. catalog sales have almost double in the past decade to 94.5 billion in 1995 and growth is projected to $143 billion by 2005. Almost all consumer and business catalog has an online presence, and most are even making a profit from Web Site sales. That is good news, especially considering the current melt down of the dot-com economy. It is not surprising given the fact that direct merchants have preexisting relationships with customers who trust their customer service and order fulfillment capabilities. The fact is that the majority of shopping is done offline, and research shows that's not going to change any time soon. The Web for most consumers is a resource to find product information, reviews, and comparative data, but actual purchases are usually done in a retail store or through a catalog. That's why most online retailers have at least one other sales channel, and why so many current online-only businesses are launching companion catalogs.
5. We Like the Catalog Type
There are many ways online retailers can market their products, through both electronics and print means, but the great ones are making sure print is essential component of their strategies. Direct email can include embedded digital images, DHTML that allow recipients to shop with out launching browsers, and streaming media that offers a more interactive experience. But most consumers trash direct email before they open it, or don't have the bandwidth or the
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