With the rise of the internet and online shopping taking off over the last few years, it’s easy to think that it’s the end of printed catalogues.
Or is it?
It’s true that many companies have stopped their catalogue production entirely or reduced the intensity to cut printing costs. Instead, focusing their investment on promoting online shopping.
But take a look at the supermarket giants. They have perfected the art of successful catalogue marketing, offering consumers product variety, attention-grabbing discounts, value, service, and quality every week.
Nearly 8 million Australians read a supermarket catalogue every week, and out of those, more than half (5.4 million) made a purchase after seeing it in a catalogue.
So it’s still early to write off print catalogues, and here’s why:
A catalogue hits the mark with shoppers
A recent Roy Morgan study shows that digital media lead, but catalogues remain key channel to reach consumers. More than a quarter of Australians turn to Catalogues as the most useful information media when selecting groceries (45%), alcohol (39%), children’s wear (33%), purchasing toys (32%), selecting clothing & fashion (30%), purchasing cosmetics & toiletries (30%) and purchasing small electrical appliances (29%). Strong evidence like this is one of the reasons retailers are migrating back toward print catalogues as part of their marketing strategy.
They can boost online and in-store sales
The use of the print catalogue has evolved in the past few years. Now catalogues act as the first stop of the buyer journey, attracting and engaging the consumer and prompting them to walk into a store to complete their purchase or shop online.
They’re effective as a more targeted strategy
With more reliable databases and a greater knowledge of their customers, retailers can segment and target customers much more efficiently for successful results. Supermarket giants aren’t limiting themselves to the traditional weekly tabloid catalogue, now building catalogues specific to new target markets.
Take ALDI’s May 2016 SKI catalogue, for example, aimed towards ski enthusiasts looking for high-quality gear at affordable prices. The catalogue objective was to raise consumer awareness of ALDI’s increased product range. And it worked, making ALDI the number one retailer of ski gear in Australia during the campaign.
Print catalogues support other marketing channels.
Multichannel marketing is vital to a retailer’s success, and catalogues play well in that arena. Email campaigns, online ads and attractive websites all add an element of branding to the buying experience. The catalogue now becomes one more element that leads consumers to that particular brand.
Catalogues builds brand recognition
Print catalogues are a powerful branding tool. Leafing through a catalogue brings a different shopping experience to the customer than just browsing a website, and this feeling creates customer loyalty. That kind of brand awareness is not as readily available online.
An increased focus from Coles on its audience motivations is proving to be a clever content marketing switch for its self-branded magalogue, as readers spend on average 8 percent more each week than people who don’t read the title.
As retailers continue to explore the channels that best reach their customers, the balance may switch back and forth from print to online to traditional in-store selling. The catalogue, however, will most likely stay and evolve. It may be leaner and arrive in more targeted mailboxes, but it will remain a major player in profitably marketing to consumers for a long time.
