Who's Making the Net Work? (1,273 words)

My answer had little to do directly with cataloging, but a lot to do with the topic of this article. I responded, "If the Internet and selling on the Web is at all in the future plans of Marks & Spencer, catalogs will get you a good part of the way."

The moral of this story is that cataloging and the Internet are, for the intermediate future, irrevocably connected. The linkage is obvious. If planned correctly, catalog photography can be used online, the catalog can emphasize the e-catalog, the e-catalog can be used for intermediate communications with customers and so on. For business, consumer and retail catalogs, the Internet must be part of the marketing mix. Business-to-business Internet selling is maturing quite nicely, but consumer and retail-oriented catalogs need to "get with it."