Success Depends on the Growth of Your 12-month Housefile

This rule of thumb assumes your average order values (AOVs) remain fairly constant. A change in AOV, for example, will cause the rule not to hold true. For example, the 12-month housefile depicted in the chart “One Cataloger’s Housefile and Demand” increased almost 39 percent, yet the demand increased 25 percent. The cataloger made merchandising changes to the book, which caused the AOV to decrease from $80.45 to $72.80, a 9.5 percent drop. A nice rate of growth was achieved, but the rule didn’t hold true.