The recent resurgence in direct mail may be explained by a better understanding of a catalog’s power to drive sales. A January New York Times article entitled Catalogs, After Years of Decline, Are Revamped for Changing Times  pointed to Lands’ End as an early example of a retail giant that recognized a need to expand catalog use. Back in 2000, Lands’ End reduced the number of catalogs it sent to consumers and experienced a $100 million drop in sales as a result. The retailer later added a pop­up survey to its website and found that 75% of customers who made purchases reviewed the catalog first. By taking the catalog away, Lands’ End came to understand the critical role that it still played in driving business. Last year, J.C. Penney Co. brought back its printed catalog, armed with data showing that many of its online sales came from shoppers inspired by what they saw in print.

According to the Direct Marketing Association, about 90 million Americans make purchases from catalogs today, and nearly 60% of them are women. The American Catalog Mailers Association reports that customers who receive catalogs spend an average of $850 annually on catalog purchases.

This past December, InfoTrends completed a multi-client study entitled Direct Marketing Production Printing & Value-Added Services: A Strategy for Growth. This study explored the value that printed catalogs deliver to direct marketers. A major message from the research was that consumers like and use catalogs. About 64% of consumers regularly or almost always read the catalogs that they receive, and nearly 34% read them occasionally.