News Views
Nearly one-fifth of the 1,081 catalogues tallied in the first nine months of 2009 were received in September. For the same period of 2010, we received just 953 catalogues, but September’s share remained roughly the same—we logged 185 catalogues that month, representing 19.4 percent of the total catalogues received to date.
There are further similarities between the data gathered in September 2009 and September 2010. Not least that in both years we noted a significant increase in volume compared with the previous month. Both months saw catalogue volume almost triple compared with August— no surprise there as many cataloguers are ramping up circulation in the run-up to Christmas.
While the number of catalogues we received had rocketed, the percentage promoting sales and discounts dropped appreciably, from 41.0 percent in August to 34.1 percent in September— almost an identical percentage to last September, when the number of catalogues promoting a sale or discount was 34.4 percent.
The percentage of catalogues offering free delivery in September remained almost unchanged from last year, rising marginally to 24.3 percent; however it represents the highest rate so far this year. Almost a quarter of all catalogues tallied in September offered conditional or unconditional free p&p.
The number of catalogues not using their front covers to tout special offers was also up on August. In September, we recorded 80 catalogues without an offer, representing 43.2 percent, up from 34.4 percent the previous month.
Looking back to October 2009, 41.3 percent of catalogues highlighted a sale or discount on the cover, and 21.7 percent offered free shipping. Going forward, I’m going to make a prediction based on that data: as we get closer to Christmas, free delivery will become an even more popular offer as cataloguers strive to make service, rather than price, the key differentiator during the festive season.
Miri Thomas editor
miri@catalog-biz.com page 22
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Q&A with... Lucy Jewson of Frugi
For charts and images accompanying the Catalogue Log, visit the Editor’s notes section on
www.catalog-biz.com
pages 34-35 Final thoughts
Tactics Views
September Catalogue Log
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