Amazon.com

Holiday Hunting, Part 2
January 1, 2003

In last month’s column, I recounted my holiday-shopping experiences with The Sharper Image, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com. This month I offer more catalog-shopping tales in case they’re helpful or instructive to other catalogers. I requested a copy of the Wisconsin Cheeseman catalog, because a recent vacation in Wisconsin convinced me of that state’s supremacy in cheese-making. The catalog, which arrived about a week after I requested it online, offers various cheeses, meats, sweets and other delectables. It’s a terrific marriage of photography and copy. And the color quality and merchandise selection is exceptional. So with the catalog, a credit card

Early Holiday Hunting
December 1, 2002

This past month I did a bit of holiday shopping online and by catalog. On the whole, my experiences were enjoyable, although I did encounter a few snags. I offer them here in case they’re instructive for other catalogers. I’d been looking in The Sharper Image catalog at a foot massager as a holiday gift for my husband’s two hard-working aunts, but I was unsure about buying it. One day I got an e-mailed offer from The Sharper Image: Get $20 off an order of $60 or more. “Ah!” I thought. “A perfect time to buy.” So I clicked on

Amazon Tests Catalog Search Service
July 1, 2002

By Gabrielle Mosquera Seeking to further its mission of enabling consumers to buy anything online, Internet behemoth Amazon.com in May began testing its own catalog search service. "It's similar to our 'Look Inside the Book' feature," explains Amazon spokesperson Carrie Peters. "It's an easy way for catalogers to have exposure to Amazon's customers. The nice thing is that it's in a format that a lot of our customers are familiar with." The search allows catalogers access to Amazon's 26 million active customer base, and offers catalogs in eight categories: scientific supplies, medical supplies, industrial supplies, car parts, home furnishings, lifestyle, pet toys,

Close More Online Sales
June 1, 2002

Catalogers know the Web can be a valuable place to sell product. However, it’s likely that many are missing the chance to generate even more sales via the Web. To boost your chance at success, pay as much attention to closing the sale online as you would in your print catalogs—perhaps even more so due to the nature of the Web. Therefore, to convert more of your Web shoppers into buyers, consider three key points in your Web-shopping process: online customer service; shipping and handling; and order-taking and processing. Online Customer Service Here are two commonly held misconceptions about online customer service:

Try Teamwork: Internet Partnerships
December 1, 2001

Putting aside for a moment the criticisms about its overall business model, Amazon.com offers numerous lessons for Web retailers—namely, the inherent beauty of Internet partnerships. Indeed, Amazon set the standard for this mainstay in the e-commerce world, and numerous catalogers have adopted these principles to great success. In fact, 10 percent of all Internet sales and 3 to 5 percent of all online catalog Web sales come through affiliate sites—and these numbers are rising rapidly, noted two consultants at the recent Direct Marketing Association Annual conference in Chicago. In their seminar entitled “Internet Partnerships: Understanding the Key to Catalog Growth,” John Deneen, president of

One-Stop E-commerce: GiftCatalog.com
December 1, 2001

Type the word “Gift” into any Internet search engine, and you’ll be faced with more sites than you know what to do with. From Gift.com to SendAGift.com, online gift retailing has become a hot-button business. With such a crowded field, why would the executives of retail giant Target Corp. decide that three of its strongest print catalog brands—Wireless, Signals and Seasons—would do better under one URL, GiftCatalog.com? The answer lies in the shopping experience. Market researchers told Target’s online division, target.direct, that potential for cross-selling among the three catalogs was high, but that navigating three different sites was not as easy it should be.

So Who’s Laughing Now?
September 1, 2001

Funny isn’t it that only a short time ago some people were telling jokes about print media such as catalogs, direct mail, magazines and newspapers. Many said these forms of communication would be dead as dinosaurs in a few years, thanks to the advent of the Internet as a marketing channel. Some even abandoned their long-time work in the print media industries in search of more glamorous jobs out in the great World Wide Web. But look inside your mailbox today and, lo and behold, you may find a catalog or brochure from one of the leading online marketers. Those who laughed at

E-Catalog: Creating Channel Incentives
June 1, 2001

Attempting to market across multiple channels, catalogers have been using myriad marketing methods to drive sales to particular channels and across channels. While the promotions can be effective, they are hard to track. Netcentives, a loyalty and e-mail marketing solutions company, is offering catalogers a new way of following customers’ buying habits, creating more effective marketing campaigns and encouraging multi-channel shopping with its program Retail Rewards. Customers join Retail Rewards by registering their credit card with their favorite catalogers to receive rewards for their purchases in any channel. Catalogers who join the program create a customer credit card registration page on their sites.

Can Database Marketing Work for Catalogers? (1,457 words)
May 5, 2001

By Arthur Middleton Hughes Despite the downturn in the stock market, catalogs today are flourishing and have become the most successful direct marketing vehicles ever invented. Why is this so? Lightning fast fulfillment. Remember "allow six to eight weeks for delivery?" Who can stay in business today saying that? Many catalogers today even offer next-day service. That means that they have had to streamline their warehouses, with UPS and FedEx trucks constantly backed up to their doors. Massive exchange of names. North America is about the only place in the world where you can rent names of mail order buyers. Almost everywhere

E-catalog-Learn From Those Around You (299 words)
April 1, 2001

By Melissa Sepos Making your customers feel valued can cost you as little as 10 cents. Amazon.com has long been touted for its one-click checkout, real-time package tracking and personalized book suggestions. In January, the company conducted a marketing program of an unusual nature. Amazon mailed an envelope containing 10 one-cent stamps with every order. The "convenience" envelope also contained a 10 percent off coupon, a promotional introduction to luxury retailer Ashford.com (see the Fulfillment story on page 69), and a letter: Dear Friend, From the start, one of our primary goals at amazon.com has been to make the lives of our