1. The power
Of print
catalogues
Name
Date

2. NEW Research, new news
As part of our desire to support advertisers and agencies get the most out of their investment in mail, we commissioned independent research agency Illuminas to understand how consumers see and use print catalogues.
This Multi-stage research comprised of:
5x depth interviews with a mix of pure-play and multi-channel businesses who use catalogues
Desk research
10x depth interviews with consumers
Online survey of 2,000 UK adults 18+ who received a mailed catalogue in the past 6 months
Research conducted March-July 2017

3. THE 10 SECOND DEBRIEF 1 2 3
Catalogues inspire emotional engagement from consumers
Catalogues provide consumers practical benefits
Catalogues inspire profitable behaviour

4. 52% have some catalogues they
Catalogues inspire
Emotional engagement
65% enjoy sitting down with catalogues and looking through them in their own time
52% have some catalogues they
look forward to receiving
45% say that receiving regular catalogues or brochures from a company they already use can them feel closer to the brand.
44% would miss catalogues if they didn’t receive them anymore
As soon as the catalogue arrives in the post I’ll sit down that evening or the following one and have a browse through it. I’ll leave it out on the coffee table (in the sitting room) and then my children will look at it and say ‘can I have that?’ Then I’ll have another look at it and then after a week or so it will go in our reference drawer
Older Family, London
Catalogues are not described as ‘advertising’ by consumers
People devote time and attention to catalogues vs other forms of marketing.
Unobtrusive compared to other channels – enjoyed and browsed at leisure, allowing the customer to discover what is within.
Source: Royal Mail MarketReach, The Power of Print Catalogues, Illuminas 2017

5. 74% 71% 70% 63% 54% And Provide Practical benefits
said a catalogue had recently has given them ideas of things to buy that they might not have come across otherwise
71%
Usually look through some catalogues to see if there is something they might need
70%
Catalogues can be useful for providing more information or detail about something I am considering buying
63%
it can be easier to browse lots of products using a catalogue than online or in store
54%
Printed catalogues give much more detail about products and a better idea of how something feels or looks than shopping online
74% of purchasers agreed: A catalogue gave me ideas for things to buy that I might not have come across otherwise
Source: Royal Mail MarketReach, The Power of Print Catalogues, Illuminas 2017

6. “There’s too much choice on websites.
People feel overwhelmed by choice
46%
say they sometimes find shopping overwhelming as there is often too much choice
“There’s too much choice on websites.
It’s tedious and time consuming. You can find an item you like in a catalogue, see the picture and then go online for all the other colours if you want.”
Pre Family, Manchester
Online shopping can have its challenges:
Challenging user experience from search to scroll
Tend to focus on single need
Time-consuming (unless have specific product or brand in mind)
Not everyone is comfortable online: people tend to prefer reading on paper than on screen especially as so much time is spent looking at screens daily.
Catalogue shopping presents a ‘break’ from technology and relaxation time is separated from work or functional activities e.g. admin etc.
Source: Royal Mail MarketReach, The Power of Print Catalogues, Illuminas 2017

7. “ “ Catalogues help navigate choice
I think it’s quicker to look for products in catalogues than online. Unless you actually know exactly what you’re looking for online just throws anything and everything at you so you just end up spending a lot of time narrowing it down to what you want…but sometimes you don’t know what you want – that’s why you’re looking online!
Whereas the catalogue already has it narrowed down for you. Catalogues don’t contain everything of course but they contain enough for you to work with and to give you a good idea.
Younger Family, London “

8. Across the purchase journey
33%
looked at sender’s website or social media
70%
say catalogues provide more information about something they are considering buying and helping them decide whether it is suitable
73%
engaged with a company after receiving a catalogue from them
86%
keep catalogues for a period of time
26%
searched online about sender or catalogue content
58% said a catalogue prompted them to find out more about something they had been thinking about buying
40%
bought something from the sender
36%
buy more frequently if they receive a catalogue
“I’ll fold down the pages of dresses I like so I can go back to them and show them to my husband. I like to browse at the range of colours I could buy a dress in as well.” (Retiree, Birmingham)
“It’s good to see something physically– you get more of an idea of if you want to buy it or not.”
(Fledgling, Birmingham)
Research
Consideration
Action
Retention
Purchase journey
Source: Royal Mail MarketReach, The Power of Print Catalogues, Illuminas 2017

9. 52% 14% Catalogues drive sales And cross-sell
of purchasers bought more than planned when shopping with a print catalogue
14%
bought none of the items they saw in the catalogue but bought something else from the sender
74% of purchasers agreed: A catalogue gave me ideas for things to buy that I might not have come across otherwise 2 2
Base: 806 UK adults 18+ who bought from the sender of a mailed catalogue in the last 6 months. Source: Royal Mail MarketReach, The Power of Print Catalogues, Illuminas 2017

10. 69% 41% 6% 3% across all retail channels… online in-store
over the phone 3%
by post
Base: 806 UK adults 18+ who bought from the sender of a mailed catalogue in the last 6 months.
Source: Royal Mail MarketReach, The Power of Print Catalogues, Illuminas 2017

11. 54% 32% Catalogues can find new audiences And Re-ignite lapsed
Among those who bought from a retailer after receiving its catalogue by mail…
32%
had not bought from the retailer previously
54%
had bought from the retailer before, but not for a while
Base: 806 UK adults 18+ who bought from the sender of a mailed catalogue in the last 6 months.
Source: Royal Mail MarketReach, The Power of Print Catalogues, Illuminas 2017

12. “ “ “ “ No wonder Direct commerce professionals say things like…
I was always a little bit sceptical of catalogues but the main draw is the physical side of them, it is the most direct form of acquisition. You are physically holding something in your hands.
Head of Customer Marketing, Online Clothing Company “
The thing that catalogues do better than anything else is show products they weren’t necessarily expecting to find. Online they are searching with an idea in mind and for a specific thing. But a catalogue gives them an opportunity to discover products as people will sit and turn the pages.
Tony Preedy, Director of Marketing & International Development “

13. Head of UK Marketing, Clothing Company
and… “
People who receive our catalogues are our most profitable customers. They have the highest lifetime value (which is 20% higher than Pay Per Click, the nearest challenging category)…
They are not massively expensive and you can do trial runs for relatively small amounts of cash. Why wouldn’t you send one out?
Head of UK Marketing, Clothing Company “

14. Liz McNamara, Marketing Consultant, Get The Label
the FINAL WORD… “
…there’s a move away from customer loyalty because the growth in mobile is making us very transient in how we shop as we’re browsing with no intent to purchase a lot more… Therefore we end up on websites that we don’t even realise we’re on and don’t take into account the brand or what it stands for.
What books allow you to do is punctuate that customer with something that has got more ability to communicate your brand than anything you’ll ever do online. If you are struggling with retention or launching a business than I think catalogues are a way of getting something tangible into customers that will make a difference. They won’t all recognise it in the short term but over time you’ll recognise it in your retention rates
Liz McNamara, Marketing Consultant, Get The Label “

15. How we Can help you leverage Power Of Print
Additional insight, information, guidance, tools, analysis and information on incentives are available via our:
How to build a Catalogue Guide – with practical tips and suggestions royalmail.com/catalogue-guide
Royal Mail specialists
Royal Mail approved Mail Made Easy experts by calling on on or royalmail.com/business/services/marketing/catalogues/directory

16. THANK YOU