After the Rain, Sun
IN THE DAYS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING the TRAGEDY of Sept. 11, 2001, the horrific event and what it was going to mean for our nation was all anyone could think about. Television networks covered the news of the terrorist attacks 24 hours a day, pre-empting all normal programming. Family, friends and co-workers talked constantly of what had happened to try to make some sense of it all and share their collective sense of loss.
By the first weekend after the attacks, I couldn’t take any more of the sad and scary news. So I decided to turn off the TV and get out of the house. It was a beautiful weekend; my family went to dinner, and we were surprised to find the restaurant packed with people. We went to the mall to shop, and the stores had lines 10 people deep at the checkout.
I thought, is there perhaps a little bright spot in all the terrible doom and gloom? Maybe the country won’t slip into a recession as a result of this latest supposed blow to consumer confidence. Even as our priorities shift, perhaps Americans will continue to spend and support the economy.
Apparently I wasn’t alone in my thinking. Consider this story, titled “Poll finds shift in consumer attitudes. Is brighter outlook precursor to rally?” from USA Today’s Sept. 17th edition. George Hager writes:
With the economy and financial markets struggling to return to normal this week, economists are worried that battered consumers will go into hibernation, pulling the economy down with them. But for now at least, consumers might not be following that script.
Backing that statement up: A USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll taken the Friday and Saturday after the attacks found that converse to what one might expect, Americans’ opinions about the economy had improved sharply from a poll taken before the terrorist attacks. Forty-six percent of respondents said that economic conditions are good or excellent compared to 32 percent holding such positive views before the attacks.
As for what this might mean for catalogers, Catalog Success contributing writer Susan McIntyre, president of McIntyre Direct, says, “Personally, I expect catalogers whose products relate back to home and family and that provide a sense of grounding in an uncertain world, will do better this season, as will catalogs that offer outstanding value.”
Of course, no one says the next several months are going to be an easy time for catalog businesses. Bill Dean, president of W.A. Dean & Associates, says, “Basically I feel that this holiday season was going to be tough, and now it is tougher. The bigger and better financed catalogers will weather this quite well. Small to medium-sized companies, those under $25 million, especially those that are not well financed and cannot take a bad cash flow situation ... could be hard hit.”
But McIntyre offers a slightly more optimistic view: “Catalogers I know, big and small, are united in a determination to move confidently ahead. They are NOT scaling back mailings. Many are adding messages expressing support of America’s principles of freedom, and many are making donations to help.”
