Catalog House File Mailings Receive Four Percent Response, According To New DMA Study

SAN FRANCISCO, June 2, 2003 – Catalogers generate a four percent response rate when mailing to their house files, according to results of a new study from the Direct Marketing Association (The DMA).

Results from The DMA's 2003 Response Rate Study, which includes data on responses from 156 catalogers, were announced today at the 20th Annual Catalog Conference & Exhibition.

Catalogs that were mailed to a company's in-house customer file resulted in a 4.08 percent response rate, while catalogs mailed to prospects received a 1.62 percent response rate. Overall, catalogs received a 2.53 percent response.

The study also revealed that 37.8 percent of catalogers send promotional e-mail to current customers, generating a response rate of .96 percent.

The DMA's 2003 Response Rate Study: Direct & Interactive Marketing Campaign Metrics was conducted by The DMA during the first quarter of 2003 and measured data on more than 1,500 direct and interactive marketing campaigns. The report contains response rate information from 25 industry categories broken down by purpose (i.e., direct order, lead generation, traffic generation, and fundraising), media, and market. Detailed information on promotional tools is also included in the study.

The full report, available next month, is priced at $195 for DMA members ($395 for non-members). It can now be ordered through The DMA Book Distribution Center by calling 301.604.0187.

The DMA is the leading trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with nearly 4,700 member companies from the United States and 53 other nations. Founded in 1917, its members include direct marketers from every business segment as well as the nonprofit and electronic marketing sectors. Included are catalogers, Internet retailers and service providers, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, retail stores, industrial manufacturers, and a host of other vertical segments, including the service industries that support them. According to a DMA-commissioned study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States are projected to have surpassed $2 trillion in 2002, including $126 billion in catalog sales and $34 billion in sales generated by the Internet. The DMA's Web site is www.the-dma.org, and its consumer Web site is www.shopthenet.org.

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