Member Article

Is it time charities turned to catalogues?

A recent report revealed that high street retailers and websites are returning to traditional catalogues in their droves to grab the attention of shoppers stuck at home during the biggest shopping period of the year.

With most stores having been closed for a month and a large proportion of people working from home, many have more time to pick up the post and browse through catalogues.

As a result more catalogues are dropping on doormats this year as brands go beyond digital ads and emails by putting beautifully photographed pictures of products directly in front of potential shoppers.

For instance fashion chain Jigsaw has said they had sent more catalogues this winter after getting a surprisingly strong response to its usual mailouts. They believe catalogues are a brilliant way of keeping a brand front of mind during lockdown. This is because on average people will spend three or six minutes on a website but a catalogue or direct mail can lie on a coffee table for a month to six weeks. If there’s something you quite liked you can keep going back. Even Argos, which had ditched its paper catalogue, has published a Christmas gift guide and posted it to one million customers’ homes for the first time. The brand has even featured the iconic catalogue at the heart of its Christmas TV ad in recognition of the power of turning down the corner of a page or drawing a circle around a favoured item.

Coupled with this is the latest direct mail research which shows a big uptake in response rates during lockdown and we’re seeing a lot of first-time tests for retail brands that have never done print before, such as delivery businesses like Riverford and Wiltshire Farm Foods and online clothing specialists such as Lands’ End and Shein, while some that have tried before, like AO.com, have begun regular activity.

For many charities such as PDSA, Oxfam, Blue Cross, Cats Protection, National Trust etc. retail is an important fundraising revenue stream. Many charities have websites detailing the gifts, trinkets and branded items that can be purchased online – however, is now the time to actually get the brand in the hand by sending donors a catalogue? As Jigsaw points out catalogues provide an unparalleled opportunity to have the charity sitting on the coffee table for weeks on end; all combined with a strong call to action.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Production Hub .