Shop Talk:

Once the test period is complete, pay close attention to search demand. If the mailed segment has more search demand than the holdout, this means catalog marketing "causes" search to happen: You mail the catalog, the customer goes online and comparison shops, then based on the results displayed by search, makes a purchase decision. If you pull back from search, then you're less efficient because your catalog causes customers to go online only to shop with your competitors. If you stop mailing the catalog, you won't even drive customers online.