86% of Women 18-30 Have Done THIS with Catalogs…

Catalogs – who really uses them anymore with all the online information available? Well, if you’re at all interested in reaching adult female consumers, you might want to consider this fact: 86% of women age 18-30 have purchased an item after seeing it in a catalog. “Powerful evidence like this is one of the reasons retailers are migrating back toward print catalogs as part of their marketing strategy,” notes this post in Workfront, citing a Kurt Salmon study on catalog trends. “Catalogs engage the reader and prompt them to begin the buyer’s journey.” That journey is what modern catalogs are all about. For example, the new Land’s End WorkWear catalog zeroes in on the real men and women in their target audience. They aren’t trying to sell to everyone; they know their target and their catalog exemplifies their lifestyle. As the Workfront article notes, this new style of cataloging, sent at a time when many brands have backed off the medium, brings specific benefits:

• Catalogs encourage readers to engage at the start of the customer journey;
• Print catalogs boost online and in-store sales;
• Modern catalog production means catalogs are more effective than ever as a highly targeted marketing strategy;
• Print catalogs have been shown to boost first-time purchases; and
• They offer incredible power as a lifestyle influencer.

Smaller brands – with their smaller marketing budgets – are understandably reluctant to consider print catalogs if they think in terms of the massive doorstop style catalogs from years ago. But today’s catalog is leaner, less of a product listing and more of an editorial lifestyle piece. This makes it more feasible and affordable to produce – and easier to target — while still bringing the benefits of cataloging to the table. Catalogs work, offering consistently high ROIs for brands that embrace this modern way to catalog. Maybe it’s time for another look…