Nine Out Of 10 Aussies Still Shop From Catalogues: Study

The latest ACRS Omnibus Survey Results report catalogues continue to have a place. With media channels vying for room in an increasingly competitive contest to gain consumer attention, catalogues and letterbox marketing remain stable with 90 per cent of consumers reporting they intend to use catalogues the same amount or more over the next 12 months.

Australians also report they look to catalogues to understand sales or specials in store. Some 44 per cent of Australian shoppers reported to read unaddressed catalogues and flyers to understand sales or specials in a particular store. Shoppers also read unaddressed catalogues and flyers to discover new products (38%), to gather new ideas about future purchases (35%), for things that might surprise them (35%) and to keep informed (35%).

The convenience of catalogues and letterbox marketing is a strong credential according to shoppers with the latest report finding “catalogues and flyers are particularly liked by Australian shoppers because they are easy to read and understand (35%). Twenty-eight per cent of shoppers also reported that they understand specials and product information better when in print”.

Consumers commented on frequency finding that Supermarket catalogues and flyers are the unaddressed letterbox material received most often by shoppers, with 62 per cent of the sample reporting to receive them on a weekly basis. Subsequently, Department stores (36%), Hardware outlets (27%), Fashion store/ brands (26%), Local takeaway/Restaurants(25%) are other major categories in which shoppers receive unaddressed letterbox material from the most frequently.

However on preference consumers noted they would like to receive more content from department stores. Fifty-six per cent of shoppers would like to receive unaddressed catalogues and flyers by Supermarkets on a weekly basis, followed by department stores, and local takeaway/restaurants (23%).

New markets coming into letterbox marketing can also gain insight from the findings with consumers highlighting how they use catalogues they receive. When receiving an unaddressed catalogue/flyer from a new company, half of shoppers use it for price comparison purposes, 36 per cent would go online to further investigate the offer, while 35 per cent would go to the store after having seen the deal.

“The latest ACRS Omnibus survey outlines common trends we are seeing in letterbox marketing across Australia and New Zealand – catalogues push to in-store and online especially well for Retailers, catalogues are also used most commonly for price comparisons and market checks to assist consumers in their path to purchase and consumers interpret messaging with greater clarity when reading from printed paper over other channels,” Kellie Northwood, CEO, ACA commented.

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