Catalog-files.
People always seem to talk about their dog’s age in ‘dog years’ which I am told works out to be about 7:1. Rover may be only 3 people years old, but pooch is now slightly older than our industry. Don’t forget that online retail is only creeping up on 20 people years of age. ……….I am lead to believe that 20 people years should have some sort of accelerator ratio as well - because the emerging eCom 2.0 feels generations removed from the 1.0 world we all will soon miss.
Swimming in the choppy eCommerce oceans with us, are business that used to rely solely on catalogs to drive sales. Good old fashioned Sears Wishbook style print catalogs (I think we all have fond memories of racing to the back of that phone book thick glossy to find the latest toys). Now, I don’t think that I am playing the role of the spoiler here saying that the catalog model is in decline. Retail has changed and finding a single channel print cataloger today is almost as impossible as finding a current phone book thick glossy catalogs, they just don’t exist any more. Case in point, the Wishbook lives on. Online that is.
In talking to many of these online catalogers out here amongst us, I never know what to expect. Some of the most savvy, connected people in our space today work at shops who still drop catalogs. I have also bumped into some folks who seem to operate on the opposite end of the savvy spectrum, who seem to be holding onto something, stuck in the same old print cycles.
I find the lack of middle ground fascinating. There does not seem to be any eCommerce fence sitters left in cataloging. Either you have embraced and invest in your online channel …….or you have a ‘webmaster’ who simply keeps the site alive, sku’s active.
My take; Being a multi channel merchant is powerful. Beyond using your website for simple order fulfillment, your website can be used to drive new sales, acquire new customers. There are millions of folks out here who have never thumbed through one of your catalogs, who are looking to buy your stuff.
In less than 3 dog years, the catalog only business model has been turned on it’s head. I wonder what this channel will look in just a few more people years?
Related Posts
- No related posts
1 Comment
Jim Cain at 12:58 on August 22, 2008
Hi Dan,
Welcome to the blog and another great post. Few additional points from your friendly neighborhood analyst.
*Catalogers online have significantly higher conversion rates than many other eCommerce enabled websites. Their customers/legacy catalog recipients are already trained on how to buy given the similarities between filling out a form on a website and filling out the form in the catalog.
* Many catalogers shy away from aggressive traffic generation programs, because driving raw search traffic will have a positive effect on revenue, but a negative effect on the site conversion rate…a closely watched number by many executives.
*Tip for catalogers: Build out two traffic segments based on the channel that brought a visitor to your website; catalog or online only. Each of these segments will have vastly different numbers and will help you identify new marketing opportunities.
Cheers,
JIm
Leave a Comment