As digital avenues have become more popular among today’s consumers (and as a result among marketers and advertisers), an interesting trend has emerged over the last few years. Direct mail – flyers, coupons, postcards, catalogs, etc. – has seen a resurgence in its effectiveness and its ability to connect brands with consumers, grab their attention, and drive purchases and engagements.
Recent research has shown that consumers are engaging with direct mail marketing materials at much higher rates than with digital marketing assets, and that those engagements are leading to higher response rates and purchases. Mail catalogs in particular have seen a huge boost in their overall response rate, reportedly increasing by 170% from 2004 to 2018 according to the Association of National Advertisers. And rather surprisingly, mail catalogs seem to be popular with Millennials despite their digital upbringings.
Perhaps it’s because there were nearly 294 billion emails sent per day in 2019, with that number projected to steadily grow over the next several years. Or maybe it’s because consumers are starting to feel a little creeped out by the hyper-personalized digital ads they’re receiving as they visit their favorite websites and social media platforms. Regardless of why consumers continue to embrace physical catalogs, (digital fatigue, privacy concerns, nostalgia, or something else entirely), an increasing number of retailers are taking notice and taking action.
Mail catalogs are in the midst of a renaissance
Mail catalogs were once bastions of the pre-digital, brick-and-mortar retail marketing world (think Sears and Toys ‘R Us), and after a lull period it seems they’re once again, back in style. In fact, there are now scores of websites dedicated to helping consumers sign up to receive mail catalogs (seriously, search “free retail catalogs” in Google sometime), which explains why savvy multichannel retailers – including QuickPivot clients Annie Selke, Allen Edmonds, MacKenzie-Childs, and Orvis – have made them key components in their cross-channel strategies.
“For our retail clients, mail catalogs have been an important part of each of their marketing strategies for many years,” said Stefanie Sparrow, client engagement manager at QuickPivot. “Even as they’ve expanded into and found success with digital marketing channels, their catalog efforts – which the QuickPivot Customer Data Platform helps them manage, monitor, and analyze – have continued to help drive sales and boost customer engagement.”
more at source: https://blog.quickpivot.com/is-amazons-use-of-mail-catalogs-a-trend-or-anomaly