More catalog commerce is becoming e-commerce, a new DMA study shows
Online shopping has some catching up to do with catalogs when it comes to customer satisfaction, the latest figures from the Direct Marketing Association show.
Consumers rated their overall satisfaction with online shopping at 8.3 out of 10. By comparison, they gave catalog shopping a mean rating of 8.87, H. Robert Weintzen, president of the DMA, told the opening general session of the Annual Catalog Conference on Monday. 75% of online shoppers rated the experience an 8 or better; 86% rated their catalog experience an 8 or better. The figures come from the DMA’s latest Customer Audit of Catalog Performance Survey.
Weintzen also reported:
--44% of catalog customers also shopped online in the previous 12 months, up from 41% a year ago
--59% used the web to check order status, up from 48% a year ago
--52% used the web to comparison shop or do product research before buying a product offline, up from 41% a year ago
--30% used the web for product support purposes
--20% responded to an e-mail offer, up from 16% last year; while 36% purchased in response to an e-mail offer
--17% used the store finder function
--12% requested a catalog online
--11% accessed online coupons.
CACPS is based on in-depth interviews with 3,400 consumers who purchased from at least one of 17 catalogs during December 2002 and January 2003.
Weintzen’s remarks introduced keynote speaker Richard Thalheimer, CEO of Sharper Image Corp., who underscored the importance of multi-channel retailing. Noting that the Sharper Image is growing equally well across channels, Thalheimer said, “We don’t try to confuse the customer by directing them one way or another. We have the infrastructure to support all three channels. There’s not a customer who wants to shop just by catalog or just by store. Everybody has different needs and those needs may even differ depending on the day or the time of day.”
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