Cathy Morris
mX
May 04, 2012
AUSSIES may hate a letterbox full of junk mail, but we still scour catalogues for bargains.
While many people stick up “no junk mail” signs, if they’re actually looking for a particular product, catalogues may convince them to visit a particular store, a marketing expert said.
Other shoppers likely to be influenced by colourful catalogues include those seeking out bargains or regular customers of a particular shop, Professor Charles Areni from the University of Sydney’s Business School said.
Prof Areni and his colleague Dr Rohan Miller compared in-store radio advertising with junk mail at 95 variety discount stores.
Catalogue advertising was the winner when it came to sales.
The study found demand for disposable razors featured in junk mail rose by 67 per cent, while there was a tenfold increase in sales for sandwich toasters.
Prof Areni said big discount offers such as a sandwich maker reduced from $78.78 to $58.78 saw the largest surge in sales.
By comparison, the researchers found in-store radio ads had little or no effect.
Prof Areni said consumers were creatures of habit and junk mail had been around for a long time.
“I suspect a subset of the market are saying ‘I shop at Woolies: if I get a Woolies catalogue, I want to take a look’,” Prof Areni said.
“The rest of us probably do just think it’s junk mail.”
But he said seeing something you wanted in a catalogue could also “trigger a visit” to the store.
Prof Areni said shopping was a very complex visual experience and junk mail, unlike radio, let you see the product.
Subscribe to our free mailing list and always be the first to receive the latest news and updates.