Shopping online is incredibly fast and convenient, but it lacks the gratifying experience of looking at goods beautifully displayed—how you might style that skirt, which lamps you might choose to go with that sofa.
That’s exactly why the old-fashioned catalog is still filling up your mailbox, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. This paper dinosaur plays a crucial role in driving e-commerce, because it gives the customer the opportunity to fantasize about the goods on display within its pages.
Anyone who has ever looked at a Pottery Barn or J.Crew catalog knows exactly what I’m talking about. Styled like high-end fashion and home-decor magazines, catalogs show us not just a series of products but an idea of what our lives might be like if we purchase these items. And, it no longer matters if you don’t live in a city that is home to one a brick-and-mortar store. Now you can get that lifestyle in even the most remote, rural areas.
Here’s what Pat Connolly, chief marketing officer at Williams-Sonoma Inc., told The Wall Street Journal:
“It’s still a very, very important part of our marketing mix… and if we do a good job, they get ideas for things they didn’t even know they wanted before they got there.”
William-Sonoma Inc. is the parent company of seven high-end brands, including Pottery Barn and West Elm.
I’ve been seduced by the siren song of these retailers more than once, including the $400 bright-green stand mixer that sits on my kitchen counter. My old one was a boring black, but this one looked so fun and joyful sitting in a beautifully staged kitchen in the Williams-Sonoma catalog. The piece in the Journal didn’t surprise me at all; many of my Sunday mornings are spent browsing the multitude of catalogs we receive daily.
But seducing me with shots of alpine ski lodges doesn’t come cheap. Athleta, a division of Gap Inc. that hawks high-end athletic wear for women, is planning a shoot in New Zealand in a few months to get that perfect shot in the snow.
John Koryl, president of stores and online at Neiman Marcus, tells the Journal that his brand sees an almost immediate increase in online sales just after their catalogs drop, justifying the expense.
The catalog as companion piece to e-commerce is one more great example of an omnichannel experience that really works.
