Roundup of Holiday Sales

"Much of the increase has come from channel-shifting within our housefile," Schlagenhaft admits. "We did a few outbound e-mails during [the holiday] season to customers only, and that was very profitable. The e-mails were just reminders, not sales offers."

Late-season Shopping

Catalogers noted one consumer trend: procrastination. Cushman's holiday-ordering patterns are getting later and later, Schlagenhaft says. "Our standard shipping cut-off date is in mid-December, and right around that time, we peak in orders."