DMA Releases 15th Annual 'Multichannel Marketing in the Catalog Industry' Report

September 11, 2007 — The Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) hot-off-the-press Multichannel Marketing in the Catalog Industry report reveals that successful multichannel marketers have consistent and integrated standards across all channels. The study — which is a comprehensive roadmap for best practices and trends in channel integration within the catalog, retail, and e-commerce infrastructures — also reveals that nearly 70 percent of respondents reported increased multichannel sales over the prior year, and 59 percent reported increased catalog circulation in 2006.

“In this, our signature report on the catalog community, we found a prevailing belief among large, successful catalog retailers that fully integrating its customer-facing functions is just smart business,” said Anna Chernis, DMA’s senior research manager. “Consumers expect — in whatever channel they opt to use — to interact with one company with integrated systems that are transparent to that consumer. After all, the different channels feed off of each other — a consumer looking at a mail-order catalog, for example, may order online. So the marketer’s channels must all be consistent.”

“This view is,” Chernis added, “a major departure from earlier thinking, in which companies thought the Internet channel would require different pricing, promotions, and other approaches than the other channels.”

Based on surveys completed online by 474 catalog marketers, the new DMA report was done with the participation of Epsilon and Haggin Marketing.

The report is divided into five chapters: Profile of Respondents and Report Overview, Multichannel Marketing Practices, Sales Results and Strategies, Circulation Planning, and Financial Information.

In addition, the report includes two appendixes: “Industry Trends According to Epsilon Supplement of Abacus Multichannel Trend Report,” and “Catalog Highlights from DMA Consumers’ Response to Direct Marketing, 2007.” [Additional information on the latter is available at http://www.the-dma.org/bookstore/cgi/displaybook?product_id=009419].

DMA has been documenting the evolution of the mail-order catalog as the Web has emerged. Among the 2007 study’s key findings are:

· Among those surveyed who have mail-order catalogs, 44 percent of total sales are consummated via the Web (vs. mail and telephone), up from 39 percent in 2005.

· 33 percent of respondents believed that their online sales were “incremental,” i.e., that they would not have received the order without the existence of their Web site.

· Respondents whose online sales are increasing reported an overall 20 percent growth rate.

· When asked to account for the online sales increase and their positive outlook for 2007, respondents said a symbiotic set of factors — overall economic conditions, overall company growth, and simply better response rates — were the most influential.

· Forty-five (45) percent of respondents said their “Web site/e-catalog” was their primary marketing channel. This was followed by paper catalog (33 percent) and retail stores (22 percent).

· When asked what offers and promotions they plan to use in 2007, 82 percent planned to employ email promotions, which was followed by discounts/special sales (67 percent), coupons (38 percent), and prize/sweepstakes promotions (33 percent).

· 42 percent planned to use free shipping offers this year.

· More than half of all respondents report they have fully integrated marketing and advertising, product selection, pricing, fulfillment, and shipping and handling policies.

· 70 percent of this year’s respondents reported multichannel sales increases over 2005.

· 59 percent reported increasing catalog circulation in 2006.

DMA’s Multichannel Marketing in the Catalog Industry report — priced at $245 for DMA members and $445 for non-members — can now be ordered through DMA’s Bookstore by clicking here or visiting http://www.the-dma.org/bookstore/cgi/displaybook?product_id=009425.

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