E-catalog-Establishing Trust on Your Web Site (919 words)

"Most catalogers already have the back-office support they need for e-commerce," says Kimberly Williams, vice president of R.R. Donnelley Online Services. "It would be different for bricks-and-mortar retailers who have to establish fulfillment systems from scratch."

Some small catalogers have taken tentative steps toward the Web by using their own site or other Internet real estate(such as Freeshop.com or Catalog City) primarily for lead generation. Lead generation is a fine start, but most existing catalogs could establish fully functional e-commerce sites at a fraction of the cost indicated by Interactive Week. After all, catalogers already have customer service, product copy and images, established design concepts, solid customer bases and experience shipping onesies—all of which cut costs for Web implementation.