‘Despite common belief that women are the hardest people to buy presents for at Christmas, research from Catalink.com claims otherwise. Nearly sixty per cent of 700 consumers polled said that male relatives are the hardest to buy gifts for during the festive season.Statistics showed that both husbands and boyfriends topped the ‘most difficult to buy for’ list at thirty two per cent, followed closely behind by Dad with twenty eight per cent. Buying gifts for Mums was voted the easiest Christmas shopping task, with less than a fifth of the votes.Ginna Clark, CEO at Catalink.com: “I know from personal experience that my partner’s Christmas gift is always the last one I buy, not because his gift isn’t important, but because I often don’t have a clue where to start.”

Clark continues: “Common belief states it is far easier for a man to buy presents for a woman than vice versa. Women are good at leaving handy little hints, like a catalogue with a page corner folded down and product circled or helpful hints during dinner time discussions. It is certainly worth keeping your eyes peeled for those catalogues lying around on the coffee table.”

Research results were collated from a survey of 700 consumers. Catalink.com offers a completely free service for registered consumers to order any of the 1,000 catalogues and brochures from top mail order and holiday companies in the UK.

Founded in 1999 and based near Cambridge, Catalink.com is a leading catalogue and holiday brochure request site. Catalink.com offers this as a completely free service for registered consumers who can order any of the 1000 catalogues and brochures from the top mail order and holiday companies in the UK.

The range of products available through the catalogues on Catalink.com includes fashion, homewares, sports, travel, technology and gardening. Read the rest of this entry »

‘In the fast changing world of fashion, the traditional little black dress (LBD) remains the most popular choice for women attending Christmas parties this year, research from Catalink.com revealed. Sixty-six per cent of the 1,300 consumers polled said they will be reaching for the old faithful black number, together with their killer heels, during the forthcoming festive season.

This research reveals that the black dress and killer heels is still a firm favourite with two thirds of Christmas party-goers. Eighteen per cent of consumers intend to add some additional sparkle to the festivities with that “little bit of bling” and sixteen per cent will opt to wear a pair of skinny jeans.

Ginna Clark, CEO at Catalink.com: “Christmas time is jam-packed with parties and while this is great fun, it can be a nightmare in the wardrobe department. Our survey shows that it doesn’t matter how many times you change your style, women always turn to that timeless favourite - the little black dress.”Clark continues: “You can always rely on the black number never going out of fashion, and consumers in the UK are benefiting from the huge variety of styles on offer for all shapes and sizes.” Most UK retailers produce mail order catalogues so women don’t even need to leave their home to window shop during this busy time of year. Evans, Next, Long Tall Sally and Simply Be, are just a sample of retailers on Catalink.com, where consumers can find the perfect little black number.Research results were collated from a survey of 1,300 consumers. Catalink.com offers a completely free service for registered consumers to order any of the 1,000 catalogues and brochures from top mail order and holiday companies in the UK.’

As reported on www.easier.com

‘83% of holidaymakers still love using travel brochures when booking their breaks, despite the surge in online holiday websites, according to research carried out by Catalink.com. The research reveals that most holiday companies are using their catalogues to drive people to book from the website, with over two-thirds of consumers preferring a combination of brochures and online deals.’ 

As reported in ABTA magazine.

“I read with interest your article ‘Make switch online and reap rewards, agents urged’ (Travel Weekly, October 19) Travel agents would be making a big mistake if they were to drop all traditional marketing methods.

While the success and effectiveness of the internet can’t be overlooked, it offers a solitary purchasing experience. There is very limited physical browsing opportunity. Whereas  a travel brochure is easy for customers to flick through and view several destinations in minutes.

Successful travel companies will be those that embrace the multi-channel approach, whether they are bricks and mortar travel agents or dot-coms that also offer paper-based browsing options.Businesses must offer customers the control and flexibility to select the most convenient buying method for them.”

As reported in Travel Weekly

Catalink.com is a consumer-facing catalogue portal that promotes more than 901 catalogues to consumers. It conducted research earlier this year showing that two-thirds of consumers prefer to use a combination of catalogue and online shopping when making a purchase. Travel ,clothing, gardening and cosmetics brochures were in particularly high demand. The reasons, according to Catalink.com’s managing director, Ginna Clark, come down to convenience and presentation.” It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s convenient and, importantly, it is something that can be done late into the evening-or exactly when you want to fit it in,” she says.“But the quality of e-commerce websites still leaves a lot to be desired .So far; no one has come up with a good alternative to the well produced paper catalogue with its enticing pictures.”  

Research conducted among 4,000 adults for the Royal Mail Home Shopping Research programme in September 2006 backs up the Catalink.com findings .It shows that 60 percent of UK consumers consult catalogues before making an online purchase, and that 83 per cent of shoppers regularly use catalogues before they buy online .  Read the rest of this entry »

“EIGHT out of ten (83%) holidaymakers still) love using travel brochures when booking their breaks despite the surge in online holiday websites, according to research by Catalink.com  

The research by the brochure request site reveals that most holiday companies are successfully using brochures to drive people to book from the website, with more than two-thirds of consumers polled preferring to use a combination of brochures and online deals when booking a holiday. The research supports statistics released earlier this month from Experian which found that 80% of home shoppers looked in a print catalogue before ordering online.  

Of those surveyed, 9% said they preferred to book their holiday solely via the Internet, with 8% opting to book with a travel agent without going online .  

Managing director at Catalink.com Ginna Clark said: ” The travel industry has responded well in recent years to the increasing number of UK consumers who prefer to book their holidays online, but they shouldn’t forget the influence a well-designed brochure has on the final purchase decision .  

” Our research indicates that most consumers still prefer to book their holiday the traditional way, first browsing through glossy pages before visiting their local agent or booking online “” 

As reported in Travel Bulletin Magazine

Despite the record jump in online shopping during July, our research shows that there’s still some dissatisfaction among online shoppers, many of whom complain about poor graphics, lack of accurate sizing information, late delivery and restrictive returns policies. Security remains a concern for others.

Many retailers are overcoming this issue by heavily marketing and revamping their catalogues together with their websites.There’s still something to be said for the humble catalogue , which remains a trusted retail outlet for many and still has a lot to offer.

An increasing number of successful online retailers are getting in on the catalogue act. Figleaves for example, started as an commerce company but soon realised that there was a market in mail order. 

A recent consumer survey by Catalink revealed that 64%% of shoppers prefer to combine the glossiness of catalogues with the convenience of ecommerce. This indicates that successful companies will be those that embrace the multi-channel approach , whether they’ re bricks-and-mortar or mail-order companies that seek to trade online; or dotcoms that also offer paper-based browsing options. 

As reported in New Media Age

“More than 80 per cent of holidaymakers still use travel brochures to help them choose holidays, despite the huge increase in the number of people booking on the internet, according to new research. The catalogue company Catalink found that most people preferred to use a combination of travel brochures and online deals.”

As reported in The Telegraph

More than 80% of holidaymakers still love using travel brochures when booking their breaks despite the surge in online holiday websites, according to research carried out by Catalink.com.

The survey reveals that most holiday companies are successfully using their catalogues to drive people to book from the website, with over two thirds of consumers polled preferring to use a combination of travel brochures and online deals when booking their holiday. This research supports statistics released earlier this month from Experian, which found that 80% of home shoppers looked in a print catalogue before ordering online.A surprising 9% of those surveyed actually preferred to book their holiday solely via the internet, with a slightly lower percentage (8%) opting to book their break away with a travel agent without going online.

Ginna Clark of Catalink.com explains: “The travel industry has responded well in recent years to the increasing number of UK consumers who prefer to book their holidays online, but they shouldn’t forget the influence a well-designed brochure has on the final purchase decision.”Our research indicates that most consumers still prefer to book their holiday the traditional way, first browsing through the glossy pages of a catalogue before either visiting their local travel agent or booking online.”

As reported on www.gm.tv

“Despite the record jump in online shopping during July, our research shows that there is still some dissatisfaction among online shoppers-many of whom complain about poor graphics, lack of accurate sizing information, late delivery and restrictive returns policies. Meanwhile, security remains a concern for others.Many retailers are overcoming this issue by heavily marketing and revamping their catalogues together with their web sites .There’s still something to be said for the humble catalogue, which remains a trusted retail outlet for many and still has a lot to offer.An increasing number of successful online retailers are getting in on the catalogue act.  Figleaves, for example, started out as an e-commerce company, but soon realised there was a market in mail order. A recent consumer survey by Catalink revealed that 64 per cent of shoppers prefer to combine the glossiness of catalogues with the convenience of e-commerce. This indicates that successful companies will be those that embrace the multichannel approach, whether they are bricks-and-mortar or mail order companies that seek to trade online, or dot-coms that also offer paper-based browsing options.” 

As reported in Retail Week