Do You Know What Really is Driving Your Demand?

The chart “Source Code Results” outlines our findings from a recent test and matchback. You’ll see in it the value of mailing to Internet-only buyers. Indeed, reducing circulation to Web buyers can have a negative impact on your demand revenue and profit contribution.

For most catalogers, Web buyers rank in the bottom 10 cells for housefile when reported by key code. But after a matchback, they often rank in the top 10 cells. The clearest example is in a holiday mailing. There were no Web cells in the top five when ranked. But after the matchback, there were three Web-only source codes in the top five housefile segments, proving that Web buyers are indeed very strong responders. They get a catalog, order via the Web, and we lose traceability. But that doesn’t mean they’re not buying. This confirms that the catalog is the biggest driver of traffic to the Web, and these customers must be mailed a catalog regardless of what channel they use to place their orders.