Ad Market Decelerates Again In April, Weakest In 19 Months

With mail volume down overall, marketers are reporting less competition and higher response rates with their direct mail and catalog campaigns. As more people stay (and shop) at home, each direct mail piece is being seen by more people in the household, and consumer catalog businesses are welcoming a significant increase in response, with many struggling to meet demand, writes Stephen Lett in Total Retail. Lett believes this favored status for catalogs and direct mail is likely to continue long after our current pandemic lifestyle is lifted. “Consumers are likely not to rush back to bars, restaurants, retail stores, etc., even when there’s a medically accepted vaccine. Many will remain cautious, adopting a wait-and-see attitude,” he writes. “Others will be set in new ways of functioning. They have adapted to a new and safer or more cautious way of living their everyday lives. The transition back to pre-COVID ways of doing things won’t be like flipping a light switch.”

A study released today by R.R. Donnelley Sons & Company (RRD) revealed that marketers' preference for channels with proven return on investment more than doubled over the past year (38% compared to 15%). The Modern Marketers Report found that economic uncertainty, increasing privacy concerns, and consumer fatigue toward marketers’ digital strategies are driving the resurgence of “tried and true” marketing channels. In addition, managing vendors was reported as a more common top organizational challenge this year than it was in 2022 (23% compared to 7%). The Modern Marketers Report, the company’s fourth annual marketing industry report, compares 1,000+ US consumers’ purchasing behaviors and preferences and attitudes toward brands’ marketing tactics with how 500+ U.S.-based marketing professionals are planning, executing, and adjusting their strategies. “During the holiday shopping season, consumers are thinking twice before they open their wallets or provide their personal information to receive deals,” said Al duPont, Chief Commercial Officer at RRD. “Results from our latest report show that marketers pairing their most reliable channels with positioning that blends convenience and savings stand the best chance for fostering customer loyalty in an increasingly competitive market.”

It’s been a seven-decade-long run, but Ikea is formally saying goodbye to its printed catalog. The decision was announced Monday (Dec. 7) as the Ikea brand continues to shift itself to digital, according to published reports. At a peak four years ago, Ikea distributed 200 million catalogs worldwide in 32 languages. The BBC once reported that the Ikea catalog was the world’s largest publication, with more copies printed than either the Bible or the Quran. Of course, it’s not surprising that a retailer looking to focus on digital is exiting print. The same trend has been underway for the past decade or so in mass-market publishing. Print runs of books, newspapers and magazines have been more or less continuously on the decline as consumer preference for digitized content grows in the mobile era. What’s perhaps eye-catching in Ikea’s case and for the world of catalog publishing in general is how inconsistent that pullback actually seems to be when one looks at retail. For every Ikea that pulls out of the printed-catalog business, there seems to be a digital brand that’s pushing forward with a new physical catalog all its own. click read more below for the full article