CA G outlook 2010: CATALOGS As popular as the Web channel is, … · 2020-01-03 · Website or store. Still, you can’t ignore the very real financial pres-sures mailers have been

outlook 2010:

How merchants track their catalog’s effectiveness

Other

We don't have a formal program

Matchback program

Keycode capture

61.1%

45.2%

27.8%

7.1%

Print catalogers have had a rough go in recent years, from the sharp rise in postage to fluctuating paper costs to a diminished pros-pecting universe and falling response rates. So why would anyone in their right mind mail a print catalog today?

Because they work. Even with all the head-aches and expenses, nothing gets a custom-er’s attention quite like a print catalog—you can’t beat them for what some experts refer

Print formats (other than catalogs) merchants have used to cut costs

in the past 12 months

Have not tried any

other formats

Direct mail

Solo mailers

FliersPostcards

46.4%

30.4% 30.4%

39.2%

26.4%

Other

8%

*Totals do not equal 100% due to multiple answers

Print formats (other than catalogs) merchants are considering using

in the next 12 months

None OtherDirect mail

Solo mailers

FliersPostcards

58.4%

33.6%37.6%

48%

22.4%

11.2%


CATALOG

CATALOGS As popular as the Web channel is, print is far from dead. Catalogers are looking to boost circulation, rent lists and try new print formats such as direct mail and postcards.Text by Melissa Dowling / Charts by Lisa Santo

[outlook 2010: catalogs]

to as their “power of inter-ruption” and their ability to generate an immediate sale or direct customers to a Website or store.

Still, you can’t ignore the very real financial pres-sures mailers have been under and the changes many have had to make to their businesses. Mul-tichannel Merchant’s Outlook 2010 survey on Catalogs sheds some light

on where mailers are now and, more important, how they’re moving forward.

the role of the Print catalog Any marketer that mails a print catalog expects that book to perform. But when you sell through multiple chan-nels, what you expect that catalog to do and how you measure its success is a little different.

It’s a given that catalogs are meant to sell products, but they have other roles today—such as driving cus-tomers to the Web to order.

In rating their catalog’s primary purpose (aside from selling product) on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 be-ing the most important, sur-vey respondents rated Web traffic driver a mean 7.89.

Branding was just as important with a mean 7.87,

Are you using variable printing to customize catalogs?

No, but we are considering it

No

Yes50.8%

27.8%21.4%

Do you plan to create customized catalogs for specific customer

segments in the next 12 months?

Not sure yet

No

Yes

35.4%28.3%

36.2%

As expected once the new postAl modificAtions kicked in lAst fAll, slim-jim-size cAtAlogs hAve fAllen out of fAvor: just 10% of respondents Are using this formAt

CATALOG

while use as a prospecting tool was just a bit lower with a mean 7.60. What other roles does the print catalog play? Among the “other” re-sponses, most participants said their catalog served to drive retail traffic.

To track their catalog’s effectiveness, the majority of respondents (61.1%) use keycode capture, while 45% have a matchback program.

But far too many—27.8%— do not have a formal pro-

gram for measuring their catalog’s success.

When it comes to catalog trim size, standard is, well, standard. Three-quarters of

respondents mail a stan-dard size catalog (roughly 8-1/2" x 11".) The slim-jim (measuring approximately 6" x 11" is the next most popular—and only 9.6% of respondents are mailing the tall, skinny booklets.

What happened to the slim-jim? The once highly cost-effective format became less appealing this past September, when new slim-jim modifications from


Nearly 40% of respoNdeNts said they decreased their catalog page couNts aNd trim sizes iN the past 12 moNths

Mailing logistics services methods merchants currently use or plan to

test in the next 12 months

Currently use Plan to test


Selective binding

Comailing Copallet-ization

Other

84.6%

15.4%

82.6%

17.4%

72.5%

27.5%

66.7%

33.3%

Creative/production changes merchants have made in the

past 12 months

Other

None of the above

Decreased the paper stock/weight of my catalogs

Increased the paper stock/weight of my catalogs

Decreased the trim size of my catalogs

Increased the trim size of my catalogs

Decreased the page count of my catalogs

Increased the page count of my catalogs 36%

39.2%

24.8%

13.6%

39.2%

16%

4.8%

6.4%


CATALOG

Circulation changes merchants are considering making in the next year


DecreaseMake no changeIncrease

Catalog circulation

Catalog editions/drops

List rental

Mailings toinactivebuyers

List hygiene/addressability

tools

None ofthe above

Other

64.6%24.8%10.6%

29.6%53.7%

16.7%

48.6%38.1%

13.3%

44.3%31.1%

24.5%

46%50%

4%

6.7%

20%73.3%

12.5%

12.5%75%

U.S. Postal Service kicked in. The catalogs new require three nonperforated tabs to seal the pages shut and each book can weigh no more than 3 oz.

Catalogers are clearly still reeling from the mas-sive postal rate hike in May 2007, which increased postage on average 20% to 40%, not to mention the lin-

gering recession. So they’ve been looking to cut produc-tion costs any way they can.

Most mailers have had to scale back their catalogs in the past 12 months. But while 39.2% said they de-creased page counts in the past year, 36% said they increased pages.

Catalogers definitely cut back on paper: 39.2%

said they decreased their paper stock/weight in the past 12 months, while 13.6% said they increased paper stock/weight.

You might expect that if the economy turns around and spending rebounds, most merchants would go back on some of the changes they’ve had to make out of necessity. But that’s not


How much do you plan to increase or decrease your catalog

circulation in 2010?

Other

Decrease by more than 10%

Decrease by 1% to 10%

Will keep circulation the same

Increase by more than 20%

Increase by 11% to 20%

Increase by 1% to 10% 38.5%

20.5%

8.2%

17.2%

9%

1.6%

4.9%

Look for fuLLer maiLboxes in 2010: most cataLogers (65%) pLan to increase circ this year, and 54% wiLL increase cataLog editions or drops

CATALOG

what our survey respon-dents are saying.

Just 16.7% said they would go back on the

changes they’ve made to their catalog, 46.8% said they would not, and 36.5% were not sure. Among those

that would undo some of the changes, more said they would bring back some of those pages they lost.

noncatalog Print formats As it gets more expensive to mail catalogs, marketers have embraced other print for-mats. For instance, 46.4% have mailed postcards in the past year and 39.2% have used direct mail.

And it seems merchants will be more aggressive with noncatalog mail in the next 12 months. More than half (58.4%) of the respondents are considering postcards in the next year, and 48% are considering direct mail.

There’s also more inter-est in solo-product mailers: 30.4% used them in the past year and 37.6% are considering them in the next 12 months.

Another thing marketers are considering: getting more personal. While half (50.8%) of the respondents are not using variable data printing to


In addition to using your own in-house file, what methods of

prospecting will you use during the next 12 months?

Other

We don't prospect

Tell-a-friend offers

Radio

DRTV

Print advertising

PPC ads

Social media ads

Postcards/direct mail

E-mail

Catalog


70.2%

71%

42.7%

43.5%

25.8%

37.1%

8.9%

11.3%

29.8%

3.2%

7.3%

CATALOG

How many of the cooperative databases do you use?

We don't use co-ops

Five or more

Four

Three

Two

One

47.1%

12.6%

11.8%

13.4%

6.7%8.4%

Which co-op databases are you using?

Totals do not equal 100% due to multiple answers

Akamai Technologies

Prefer Network

American List Exchange (ALEXA)

Other

Wiland Direct

Experian Z-24

None

I-Behavior

NextAction

Epsilon Abacus 47.1%

35.3%

32.9%

30.6%

21.2%

17.6%

9.4%

8.2%

5.9%

3.5%

customize catalogs, 27.8% are doing this now, and 21.4% are considering it.

What’s more, 35.4% of respondents plan to cre-ate customized catalogs for specific customer segments in the next 12 months.

This is encouraging, since variable data printing has been slow to catch on. Even

though costs have come down significantly in recent years, most mailers feel the technology is still too expensive—particularly dur-ing the harsh recession.

But then, experts say that the returns are much higher with VDP vs. a static print job, especially the more personalized a mail piece is.

Printing imPressions Speaking of printing, cata-logers have embraced mail-ing logistics services. Most (84.6%) of respondents currently use selective bind-ing, 82.6% now comail and 72.5% use copalletization.

When we asked how their relationship with their print-er had changed in the past


Is co-op use up? Not really—32% have used co-ops more IN the past year, 24% relIed oN them less aNd 43% use them about the same

CATALOG

How are you using the co-ops?

Other For modeling purposes

For list hygiene

To acquire names

90.6%

17.2%

60.9%

6.2%


12 months, many respon-dents said that it hadn’t. And several noted that they had changed printers within that time frame.

But some said their print-er was more responsive to deadlines, controlling costs and increasing efficiency. One respondent said that the printer’s role has ex-panded to “researching addi-tional ways they can help us achieve savings in the postal, printing and prepress/pho-tography areas.”

Clearly, saving money is at the forefront of the cata-

loger/printer relationship these days. As one respon-dent noted, “we both seek ways to cut costs.”

circulation issues After holding back for a few years, merchants are looking to get more cata-logs in the mail. When it comes to catalog circula-tion, 64.6% said they are planning to increase in the next 12 months. Nearly 20% are planning to step up the number of catalog editions and/or drops.

About half (48.6%) of

respondents are planning to increase list rentals in the next year, while 44.3% plan to boost mailings to inactive buyers.

By how much will mailers hike their catalog circula-tion this year? Just over 38% of respondents plan to increase by 1% to 10%, and 28.7% will boost circ more than 20%. About 10% said they will decrease circula-tion in 2010, while 17.2% plan to keep it the same.

Somewhat surprisingly, nearly half (47.1%) of re-


How has your use of the co-ops vs. traditional list rentals changed

in the past 12 months?

Other

We use co-ops about the same

We rely less on co-ops

We rely more on co-ops

32.4%

23.5%

42.6%

1.5%

CATALOG

Will efforts like the USPS 2009 summer mail sale

encourage you to mail more catalogs if you qualify

for discounts?

Not sureNoYes

39.5%

28.6%31.9%

spondents said they do not use cooperative databases. Of those that do, Epsilon/Abacus is the most popu-lar—47.1% said they use it.

Next is Nextaction, used by 35.3%, while 32.9% said they use I-Behavior, 21.2% use Experian Z-24 and 17.6% use Wiland Direct.

Most of the catalog-ers that work with co-ops

(90.6%) use them to ac-quire names, while 60.9% use them for modeling and 17.2% for list hygiene.

So have mailers been leaning more on the co-ops during the recession? Not really.While 32.4% of respondents said they have relied more on co-ops in the past 12 months, 23.5%

have relied on them less and 42.6% use co-ops about the same amount as they did before the downturn.

Finally, catalogers do re-spond to postage incentives: 39.5% said a U.S. Postal Service “mail sale” similar to 2009’s would encourage them to mail more. Good thing the USPS is planning one for this summer. l


CATALOG

methodology

On December 17, 2009 an e-mail invi-tation was sent out from the editor of Multichannel Merchant to subscribers to the print publication. As an incentive to participate, survey respondents were of-fered the opportunity to win one of four $50 Amazon gift certificates. Subsequent mailings were sent to subscribers of the Multichannel Merchant MCM Weekly, i-merchant and O+F Advisor e-newsletters.

By February 21, 2010, the closing date of the survey, 886 responses had been received. Of those, 594 (77.5%) indicated that their company marketed products directly to consumers and/or businesses through a print catalog and/or e-commerce Website, and those active respondents form the basis of the result to the survey.

Documents

CA G outlook 2010: CATALOGS As popular as the Web channel is, … · 2020-01-03 · Website or store. Still, you can’t ignore the very real financial pres-sures mailers have been