Catalogs Drive Multichannel Sales

The study also showed the shift from call centers to Web sites is increasing. Thirty-two percent of direct sales from multichannel merchants were conducted online in 2003, up from 28 percent in 2002. Trends indicate this channel shift will continue, with a strong likelihood that Web sales will pass call center sales in the next 18 to 24 months, said Abacus executives. This underscores the importance of accurately measuring all sales generated by catalog mailings in conjunction with search, affiliate and e-mail campaigns, they noted.