Oct 192007
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 . So, what’s driving this ‘flick to click’ trend towards using catalogues and websites in tandem in the consumer arena-and to what extent is it being replicated in the business-to-business environment? Time-poor consumers Mark Peacock, a home shopping consultant at Expan Integrated Marketing, believes there are several factors at play. Broadband penetration is important, he says, but in the business-to-consumer world at least, it’s mainly about time.” People are working longer hours and don’t want to go to the high street every time they want to buy something,” Peacock says. “Think about the success of online supermarkets such as Tesco.com.
Society has changed beyond recognition in the past five years. Brands have got smart and identified what their ideal customer looks like. They are targeting cash-rich, time-poor consumers incredibly well, with highly relevant products designed to appeal to them. “In some ways, argues Tony Lamb, managing director of direct marketing consultancy Lamb Direct Consulting, the forces at play are similar to those that allow traditional, postal direct mail to hold its own against the rise of e-mail and online marketing. “People like to hold a piece of paper and read it at their leisure sitting on the sofa, watching TV with a cup of coffee,” Lamb says. “It stimulates the senses more than a website does, and it’s the reason that direct mail is still incredibly popular, especially for more considered purchases such as a car or a kitchen.” Also, the online shopping experience is often clunky and counter-intuitive .Browsing a catalogue and then going online to enter the product code in a search box holds obvious appeal as a quick and easy way to place an order, according to Lamb. He points out that, as an increasing number of people try online shopping and realise that the risks of fraud are minimal-and in most cases indemnified by the credit card company-they become far more willing to make the actual transaction online.
Business to businessSo much for consumer-facing companies. What about businesses supplying other businesses – are they taking the same approach? Catalink’s Clark believes that, although ‘flick to click’ may not be as widespread in B2B as in the consumer facing world, there are some companies out there bucking the trend. “Look at Screwfix,“ she says.” There is no way you could browse through the Screwfix website as quickly as you can find what you need in the catalogue. Or try the Viking Direct catalogue versus the website when you are trying to pinpoint some specific item of stationery.” Clark adds that Catalink’s B2B section, Catalogica.co.uk, is extremely popular with corporate members. As reported in The Marketer
