{"id":12936,"date":"2023-11-13T17:18:48","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T17:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/finance\/opinion-who-needs-to-rush-into-stores-on-black-friday-retailers-send-out-6-billion-catalogs-annually\/"},"modified":"2023-11-13T17:18:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T17:18:49","slug":"opinion-who-needs-to-rush-into-stores-on-black-friday-retailers-send-out-6-billion-catalogs-annually","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=12936","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: Who needs to rush into stores on Black Friday? Retailers send out 6 billion catalogs annually."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

We\u2019re coming up on holiday shopping season again, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday just around the corner. And that means I\u2019m reading all about the Willson family of Albany, Ga.<\/p>\n

Not that I know the Willsons personally. But I know about the performance of \u201cDon Giovanni\u201d they attended at the Atlanta Opera. And the cruise they took to the British Isles. And all the pecans they grow on their family farm (and all the pecan goodies, from pies to candies, they make with those delectable nuts).<\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s the latter detail that really connects me to the Willsons. You see, each year I receive the catalog from Sunnyland Farms, the 75-year-old mail-order business tied to the Willsons\u2019 pecan-growing operation. And each year, the catalog offers details about the Willsons and the many Sunnyland employees, from relative newcomer Janice Hall (\u201cShe makes sure all of our nuts are toasted to perfection\u201d) to trusted veteran Saundra Bryant (\u201cWhen a mail-in order is not clear, she\u2019s the one who will reach out to you\u201d).<\/p>\n

Needless to say, the more I read \u2014 and the more I see pictures of those pecan goodies \u2014 the more tempted I am to buy something. Even in an age when so many of us do our shopping online (and trust me, I\u2019ve sung the praises of Amazon many a time), browsing through a catalog is an experience that no e-commerce site can ever match.<\/p>\n

Apparently, I\u2019m not alone in feeling this way. Why else would companies send out some 6 billion catalogs annually to Americans, at least according to figures from the American Catalog Mailers Association? Granted, that\u2019s well below the high-water mark of close to 20 billion catalogs in 2006 \u2014 and the association admits that e-commerce has had an obvious impact, along with rising postal rates.<\/p>\n

Still, 6 billion is no small number. Perhaps more remarkable is the fact the e-commerce sites have also gotten into the catalog game in recent years. Even Amazon
\n AMZN,
\n -0.56%<\/bg-quote>
\n sends out the occasional mailer.<\/p>\n

Why do catalogs continue to speak to us? Plenty of reasons, say the experts.<\/p>\n

With their colorful photos and telling stories about products (and sometimes the people behind them), catalogs create an inviting world all their own. And it\u2019s a world hard to replicate on a computer screen (or worse, a smartphone), especially given the distractions you inevitably face when you\u2019re online. That is, you don\u2019t get sidetracked by emails or social-media posts when you open a catalog. \u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\n \u201c<\/span>The more I read, the more tempted I am to buy something.\u201d<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

This becomes truer when the catalog specializes in high-end products or just items that would be considered non-essential (like, say, a yummy pecan pie). It plays into a fantasy aspect of sorts, as Jonathan Z. Zhang, a professor of marketing at Colorado State University, told me.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like department stores and window shopping,\u201d said Zhang, who has written about the enduring appeal of catalog shopping for the Harvard Business Review. In his research, Zhang has found that retailers often see a good return on investment with catalogs versus online marketing, especially given that the costs for digital advertising are \u201cskyrocketing\u201d of late.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth noting that many catalogs have changed to suit the times. These days, there\u2019s less emphasis on showing hundreds, even thousands, of products to buy (an 1897 Sears catalog ran some 720 pages!). Rather, it\u2019s often about creating a curated experience focusing on a few key items, with the understanding the consumer will likely go online to make the purchase or visit the physical store (and once they do, they will see the fuller array of products).<\/p>\n

In other words, the catalog serves an introductory role, as Kevin McLaughlin, chief creative officer of the sportswear brand J. McLaughlin, explained to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the term \u2018catalog\u2019 is dated. It may be better called a lookbook,\u201d he said, referring to a marketing piece often used in the fashion industry.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, McLaughlin\u2019s company long resisted the idea of issuing a catalog, but changed its mind seven years ago. It now sends out close to 10 million of them annually \u2014 and for good reason: The company says 25% of new customers come to it via the mailers.<\/p>\n

Not that there isn\u2019t effort or expense involved. The Sunnyland folks told me it takes months to prepare their catalog (and they send out a few million of them). The idea of telling stories about the family and company employees in the mailer evolved over time, until it became a tradition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found out people really connected with that,\u201d said Alex Willson, the company\u2019s president and chief executive.<\/p>\n

Of course, people connect to the products, too. I can say from personal experience the Sunnyland pecans are plenty tasty. But if it wasn\u2019t for the catalog, I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d have found my way to them. The same goes for other items I often purchase from catalogs, from the decadent Dobosh torte sold by Swiss Colony to the rugged outerwear that comes via the venerable L.L. Bean.<\/p>\n

Even if I don\u2019t buy from these and other catalogs, I like to browse through them. After all, I grew up in a world ruled by the print medium \u2014 I\u2019m nearly 60 years old \u2014 so perhaps it\u2019s a generational thing. But retailers and marketers tell me a surprising number of younger shoppers are hooked on catalogs.<\/p>\n

I like to think there\u2019s a new generation reading all about the Willson family\u2019s adventures. And, yes, maybe trying those pecans for themselves.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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