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However, Grant says, the clouds seem to be lifting a bit recently. "[Catalogers] now have started to recognize that they can't let their housefiles age indefinitely; I expect to see a change as mailers start to prospect more."

Steve Trollinger, senior vice president of client marketing at catalog consultancy J. Schmid & Associates, concurs that flat mailing quantities led to fewer new catalog buyers. "And it netted out to 20 percent fewer names in the total buyer pool," he says.