What we like about catalogs
The formula is straight-forward:
- an unwanted catalog is a waste of marketing resources and natural resources. Bad for the financial and environmental bottom line.
- a wanted catalog is a pleasure to receive in the mail; you can browse the merchandise in the comfort of your home. It can provide you with the inspiration for a gift or that product you have been thinking about buying.
- the consumer is the one who has the right to decide what is wanted and unwanted. That is why we built Catalog Choice. Up until now, there was no straightforward way to communicate your decision about unsolicited mail.
There are other reasons to like catalogs, now that you have the choice of which ones to receive. If you live in a rural area, a catalog can be one of your key ways of connecting to your favorite stores, whether online, by phone, or by mail. Catalogs give you access to product selection beyond what you will find at Wal-Mart, the dominant general merchandise retailer in rural America.
If a merchant operates in all three channels (catalog, online, physical store), the catalog lets you check out what a retail merchant is now featuring before you decide to go shopping.
Another thing we like about catalogs is that the store is always open. When we are ready to make a purchase, we can pick up the phone and talk to a knowledgeable customer service representative or point our browser to the merchant’s website and make the purchase any hour of the day or night. This is a real boon to those of us who work or are busy during the day and usually take the time to peruse a wanted catalog or website in the evening.
In addition to these benefits, several catalog merchants are leaders in the effort to reduce their environmental footprints. Some use recycled and/or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified papers. Some ask if you want to combine multiple products into one carton, reducing the amount of natural resources used (both in terms of packaging and transportation emissions) to send your items. Some have information in their catalog and website to educate consumers on the environment and sustainability issues. And, some merchants are starting to let the consumer specify the frequency and media channel (print, online, email) in which they communicate with you.
One of our goals is to help you find those catalogers that care about your choices and the environment so that you can incorporate that information into your purchasing decisions. We plan to work with merchants to identify those “best management practices”, and to communicate those findings to you.