Why your favorite catalogs are smaller this holiday season

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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Honey, they’ve cut back on the catalogs.

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As retailers hope to expand this holiday season, customers may notice that printed gift guides arriving in their mailboxes are getting smaller.

Millions of catalogs sent to homes in the United States have already been shrunk to save on postage and paper, resulting in pint-sized editions. Lands’ End, Duluth Trading Company and Hamacher Schlemmer are among the gift suppliers using smaller versions. Some retailers save even more money by using postcards.

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Lisa Ayoub, a tech-savvy online shopper in Portland, Maine, was surprised by the size of the latest catalog she received from outdoor apparel company Carbon2Cobalt.

“It felt like a brochure compared to a catalog,” she said.

Catalogs have undergone constant recalibration over the years in response to technological changes and consumer behavior. The thick, heavy Sears and J.C. Penney catalogs that brought store displays into American living rooms were downsized, giving way to targeted mailings once websites could do the same. Recent increases in postal rates have accelerated the recent shift to combined formats.

The number of catalogs mailed each year fell by about 40% between 2006 and 2018, when an estimated 11.5 billion catalogs were mailed to homes, according to the trade group formerly known as the American Catalog Mailing Association. In a sign of the times, the Washington-based group renamed itself in May the American Business Marketing Association, reflecting an expanded focus.

But don’t expect catalogs to go the way of the dinosaurs just yet. Defying predictions of doom, these companies have managed to remain relevant in the age of e-commerce. Retail companies have found that they can treat page-less catalogs as a marketing tool and include QR codes and promotional codes to entice customers to browse online and complete a purchase.

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Although there is not a large inventory of goods, catalogs are expensive to produce and ship. But industry officials say it has its own value because of the rising costs of digital advertising, which helps retailers cut through the noise for consumers struggling with multi-format advertising.

In an unexpected development, prominent e-commerce companies such as Amazon and home goods supplier Wayfair have begun distributing catalogs in recent years. Amazon began mailing out the toy catalog in 2018. That was the same year that Sears, which produced the annual Christmas Wish Book starting in 1933, filed for bankruptcy.

Fans of printed information may rejoice to hear that clothing retailer J.Crew relaunched its glossy catalog this year.

Research shows that the hands-on experience of browsing a catalog makes a greater impression on consumers, said Jonathan Chang, a marketing professor at Colorado State University.

“The reason these paper formats are so effective is because our human brains have not evolved as quickly as technology and computers over the past 10 to 20 years. We retain more information when we read something on paper. That’s why paper books remain important,” Zhang said. “Psychology shows that 3D tactile experiences are more memorable.”

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Small-format presentations can still work, Chang said, because the purpose of catalogs these days is simply to grab customers’ attention. Conserving paper also works better with younger consumers who are concerned about the impact of the holiday shopping season on the planet, he said.

Postal increases speed up changes. The latest round of postage increases in July included the once-ubiquitous 8.5-by-11-inch denomination in the catalog industry.

Many retailers have responded by reducing the size of their catalogs, placing them in the less expensive mailing category, said Paul Miller, executive vice president and managing director of the American Trade Marketing Association. One size called the “Slim Jim” measures 10.5 x 5.5 inches. But there are other sizes. Some retailers cut costs further by sending bulk postcards to consumers.

Lands’ End, for example, is testing new compact formats to complement its traditional catalogs. That year included glossy folded brochures and postcards, among other formats, said Angie Rieger, chief transformation officer.

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Ayoub, who is based in Maine, said she understands why retailers continue to use catalogs even though she is no longer a fan of the format. These days, she prefers browsing products online, rather than flipping through paper pages.

“Everyone wants eyeballs. There are too many websites and too many brands,” said Ayoub, who spent 35 years working in department stores and in the wholesale industry.

Targeting customers at home is not a new concept. L.L. Bean pioneered the mail-order catalog after its founder promoted the popular “Maine Hunting Boot” to out-of-state hunting license holders in 1912. The Freeport, Maine-based outdoor apparel and equipment company is committed to sending regular-sized catalogs for now.

“By showcasing our icons, the catalog becomes an icon in itself,” said Amanda Hanna, L.L. Bean spokeswoman. “Even as we invest more in our digital and brand marketing channels, the catalog maintains a strong association with our brand and is therefore an important part of our omnichannel strategy, especially for our loyal customers.”

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