Why your favorite catalogs are limited this holiday season

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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Honey, cut back on the catalogs.

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While retailers hope to be big this holiday season, customers may notice that the printed gift guides that arrive in their mailboxes are small.

Many of the millions of catalogs sent to US homes were actually reduced to save on postage and paper, resulting in pint-sized publications. Lands’ End, Duluth Trading Company and Hammacher Schlemmer are among the gift suppliers that use micro systems. Some retailers save even more money with postcards.

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Lisa Ayoob, a tech-savvy, online shopper in Portland, Maine, was surprised by the size of the latest catalog she received from outdoor goods company Carbon2Cobalt.

“It’s almost like a brochure versus a catalog,” she said.

Catalogs have undergone constant revision over the years due to changes in technology and consumer behavior. The dense, heavy catalogs of Sears and JC Penney brought store displays into America’s shrinking living rooms and unleashed targeted emails when websites did the same thing. Recent increases in postage rates have accelerated the recent shift to compact formats.

The number of catalogs mailed annually fell by nearly 40% between 2006 and 2018, with an estimated 11.5 billion mailed to homes, according to the trade group known as the American Catalog Mailers Association. In a sign of the times, the Washington-based group rebranded itself in May as the American Commerce Marketing Association, reflecting a broadened focus.

But don’t expect catalogs to go the way of the dinosaurs just yet. By defying doomsday predictions, they have managed to stay relevant in the e-commerce era. Retail companies have found that they can handle a few page catalogs as a marketing tool and include QR codes and promo codes to entice customers to browse online and complete a purchase.

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Despite not carrying an extensive inventory of goods, catalogs are expensive to produce and ship. But they’re holding back because of the rising cost of digital advertising, which helps marketers cut through the noise from consumers who are turned off by multi-format ads, industry officials say.

In an unexpected twist, notable e-commerce companies such as Amazon and home goods supplier Wayfair have begun distributing catalogs in recent years. Amazon started posting a toy catalog in 2018. That was the same year that Sears, which produced the annual Christmas Wish Book Wish beginning in 1933, filed for bankruptcy.

Fans of printed information may be happy to hear that clothing retailer J.Crew has relaunched its glossy catalog this year.

Research shows that the experience of thumbing through a catalog leaves a big impression on consumers, said Jonathan Zhang, a marketing professor at Colorado State University.

“The reason these paper structures are so successful is that our human brain has not evolved as fast as technology and computers have in the last 10 to 20 years. We retain more information when we read something on paper. That’s why paper books are always important,” said Zhang. “Psychology shows that three-dimensional, tactile experiences are more memorable.”

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Pint-sized presentations still work, though, because the purpose of catalogs these days is to get customers’ attention, Zhang said. Saving paper also works best for younger shoppers who are worried about the impact of the holiday shopping season on the world, he said.

Postage increases are rapid changes. The latest round of mailings in July included an 8.5-by-11-inch section that used to be ubiquitous in the catalog industry.

Many retailers have responded by reducing the size of catalogs, relegating them to the lower-cost literature category, said Paul Miller, executive vice president and managing director of the American Commerce Marketing Association. One size, called “slim jim,” measures 10.5 by 5.5 inches. But there are other sizes. Some retailers have cut costs by sending large postcards to consumers.

Lands’ End, for one, is exploring new compact formats to supplement its regular catalog. This year, it included glossy folded brochures and postcards, among other forms, said Chief Transformation Officer Angie Rieger.

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Maine resident Ayoob said he understands why retailers still use catalogs even though they no longer follow this format. These days, you like browsing products online, not flipping through pages of paper.

“Everybody wants eyeballs. There’s so much out there – so many websites, so many brands,” said Ayoob, who has spent 35 years working in the supermarket and retail industry.

Targeting customers at home is not a new concept. LL Bean was the pioneer of the mail order catalog after its founder promoted his famous “Maine Hunting Shoe” to hunting license holders from out of state in 1912. The outdoor clothing and accessories company based in Freeport, Maine, is sticking to sending standard size catalogs for now.

“By showcasing our icons, the catalog has become an icon itself,” said LL Bean spokeswoman Amanda Hannah. “Even as we invest heavily in our digital and brand channels, the catalog maintains a strong relationship with our brand, so it is an important part of our omni-channel strategy, especially for our loyal customers.”

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