Catalogs are inescapably entwined with the history of retail marketing. For some companies, their catalogs have been the flag-bearers for their brands: think of the Sears catalog, IKEA, JCPenney, or Toys R Us. In an increasingly digital marketing landscape, though, it seems like the catalog has seen its share of the marketing pie decrease down to a sliver.
Rising print costs, e-commerce overload, and sustainability efforts have all pushed catalogs off their perch. And yet, catalogs aren’t a relic quite yet. In fact, well-designed catalogs could be among the most powerful, must-have marketing assets you have – but only if used strategically.
Catalogs Past and Present
Shoppers with memories of the pre-digital age definitely have some core shopping memories with catalogs! Up until the e-commerce revolution, catalogs were the way to go: we can all remember paging through brand-new catalogs, circling favorites, or even filling out the mail-order forms at the back. It was a very personal experience, but one that has largely disappeared, even from the most iconic brands. For instance, IKEA discontinued its iconic catalog in 2021, while the original Sears catalog stopped printing in 1993. Many other brands have similarly ended or massively scaled back their catalog operations.
Even so, print marketing remains incredibly powerful. The physical experience of print can make a bigger, more lasting impression than digital ads. It provides a more multisensory, tangible connection with the brand, as well as a longer “shelf life” to keep your brand top of mind.
Research from the Harvard Business Review revealed just how effective catalogs still can be:
- Sending customers catalogs in addition to targeting them with email marketing resulted in a 24% increase in purchases over those who only received emails, or an ROI lift of 870%.
- The ROI of catalog marketing on “physical-prone” customers (shoppers who have historically done at least half of their shopping in-person) is 60% higher than “e-commerce-prone” customers, indicating the former group’s consistent preferences for tangible experiences.
- Catalogs that feature photos combined with narratives are 40% more effective for sales and customer engagement than those that include only photos and product names. Customers also hang onto catalogs with narrative elements for an average of 12 days, versus just 6 days for item-only catalogs.
Catalogs tap into the desire for today’s shoppers to have an experience they can control and adjust to their own pace and preferences. With the right technology, it can become a true omnichannel experience, and it can even transform from an ordinary piece of print to the star of viral content!
Integrating Catalogs with Today’s Technology
Catalogs today are more than just prices and pictures in print. Instead, successful brands incorporate innovative technology to integrate with online shopping and to allow a more user-driven experience.
Proving this point? One of the most popular catalogs today is actually from famously-online retailer Amazon! AdAge reports that Amazon’s holiday toy catalog has become a must-have, in-demand item for shoppers, influencers and more. Since 2018, Amazon has annually sent out a limited number of these physical catalogs ahead of the holiday shopping season (and, even more importantly, ahead of its early-fall Prime Day). The 2024 edition comes in at an enormous 94 pages, with over 700 individual items featured.
The Amazon toy catalog has even entered the influencer sphere! Major publications like Good Housekeeping have offered tips on how to get a copy or get on the mailing list. At the same time, social media influencers across platforms like TikTok and Instagram are increasing the attention even further by sharing their favorite picks, posting read-throughs, and more.
Of course, most brands don’t have the resources to produce massive catalogs with an eye on social media fame. Still, there are still quite a few lessons from Amazon’s approach that brands of any size can utilize:
- Integrate technology: Amazon’s toy catalog features shoppable QR codes throughout the pages. Likewise, you can include shoppable QR codes to print pieces, encouraging shoppers to seamlessly go online and place their orders right away.
- Focus on interactivity: Alongside the actual items, Amazon’s toy catalog includes just-for-fun features: stickers, mazes, word searches, and so on. Your brand could add similar print features, or even digital elements to invite digital try-ons, discount codes, and more. When you share more than just pages of products, customers connect on a more personal level, which leads to increased brand loyalty and higher sales.
- Provide easy search access: Shoppers used to the ease of online search may get frustrated with print catalogs. To solve this, Amazon combines a typical, categorized catalog with a link to their online store, where items are easily searchable by parameters like age range, topics, and more. Coordinating your catalogs with online access can allow your brand to help customers search more effectively.
- Encourage slower browsing: Typically, catalogs encourage a more leisurely pace of shopping than online scrolling, which gives you more time to make an impression. Incentivize customers to spend more time absorbing information, with features like in-catalog shopping lists or bookmarks, interactive quizzes, or similar elements.
Lithographics offers three kinds of print – web, digital, and offset – under one roof, giving you more options to create the perfect catalog! We can work with you to identify the best solutions for your needs and budgets, so you can tap into the power of print. Contact us for more information or to discuss your brand’s needs!