Link This | Email this | Blog This | Comments (0)

Catalog Business Models
April 1, 2008

Previously we discussed a few issues for web based ordering from catalogs. What we continue to learn is that certain products are more frequently purchased from online sources then others.

For example, its not unusual to see a large portion of high tech gear (computers, software) sold on line while anything that falls under the jurisdiction of the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) may not.

One thing  I found most interesting on a catalog assignment was the evolution of purchasing preferences. At first the catalog was the main option for marketing the product and the phone the main ordering tool. Over time this was followed by internet marketing and internet ordering tool and superstores for marketing and sales.

For this company the catalog evolved from a marketing tool that resulted in a direct phone sale to a marketing tool that drove them to a web sale or drove them into their stores to buy products. More interesting was that driving a customer into a store resulted in a higher average sale. This meant the goal of the catalog evolved from simply generating a sale and order to driving the customer traffic to stores.

Posted by Howie Fenton on April 1, 2008 | Comments (0)