| Can a catalog brand survive as an e-commerce | |
| pureplay, one that does not mail catalogs? | |
| Yes, Customers Will Just Shop Online | 44% |
| Yes, But Sales Will Plummet | 35% |
| No, The Cataloger Will Soon Be Out Of Business | 21% |
The reasonably even distribution of answers is congruent with the data I see across various Multichannel Forensics projects. Some companies would be out of business within a few months. Some companies would see a dramatic decrease in sales. And some companies would thrive.
Yes, Customers Will Just Shop Online:
- Brand has a retail channel that is dominant.
- Online channel is more than fifty percent of direct-to-consumer sales.
- Online channel has a broader merchandise assortment than the catalog has.
- Customer never enters catalog key-code when ordering online.
- Brand is not "over-mailing" customers.
- Brand is in "Retention Mode".
- Catalog is in "Transfer Mode".
- Customer is largely urban or suburban, age 18-45.
- E-Mail and Paid Search performance improves in mail/holdout tests.
- Brand does not have a retail channel, or has a small retail channel.
- Online channel is less than fifty percent of direct-to-consumer sales.
- Online channel has the same merchandise assortment as the catalog.
- Customer sometimes enters catalog key-code when shopping online.
- Brand is in "Hybrid Mode".
- Catalog is in "Equilibrium Mode".
- Customer is largely suburban, age 35-55.
- Brand does not have a retail channel.
- Online channel is less than thirty percent of direct-to-consumer sales.
- Customer always enters catalog key-code when shopping online.
- Brand is in "Acquisition Mode".
- Catalog is in "Isolation Mode".
- Customer is largely rural, age 50-80.
This the right way to proceed with the customers in order to get the customer survey very good. We have to inform them that this is a customer survey and we don’t need any personal information just we need feedback.
ReplyDeleteInteresting data and guidelines. Your survey assumed that a brand had a catalog and was considering eliminating it. What would be the consequences? My question is for a start-up trying to decide whether to develop a catalog business. What are the characteristics of businesses that really need a catalog to thrive (vs. an online store) and why?
ReplyDeleteBTW, tremendously useful and throught-provoking site. I found it this morning and have been poking around.
A catalog is really nothing more than an expensive targeted ad, delivered via the mailbox.
ReplyDeleteSo the question for an online startup is to determine if the target audience is receptive to that form of advertising? If so, have at it. But if the online startup enjoys customers in their 20s who are social networking fans, a catalog is not going to offer the best strategy.