After conducting numerous roundtable discussions with catalog executives nationwide, Catalog Age decided it was time to go directly to the source: the shoppers. We gathered eight consumers of varied backgrounds and ages to talk catalogs. During the discussion, held in late November in White Plains, NY, the participants explained why they shop via catalogs and the Internet — as well as why they don’t.
Participants
Anne, 28, dental assistant
Donna, 39, entrepreneur/substitute teacher
Karyna, 32, senior planning manager
Lane, 48, marketing operations supervisor
Mike, 44, editor
Nancy, 38, director of social work
Tara, 30, payroll specialist
Veronica, 47, rehab therapist
Catalog Age executive director Melissa Dowling and special projects manager Regina Ryan moderated the discussion.
Catalog Age: Do you buy from catalogs or over the Internet?
Donna: All the time. I find myself making most of my catalog purchases from Victoria’s Secret. That’s my favorite.
Nancy: I’ve bought from various catalogs. Pottery Barn is one. I’ve also bought some clothes from catalogs.
Veronica: Yes, Lands’ End, I like Lands’ End. There are a few others…Pottery Barn, I’ve tried those.
Lane: Yes, I buy from Lands’ End, Eddie Bauer is a good one, REI — I buy camping equipment that way, although I’ve gone more online with REI. Popcorn Factory, things like that, I send my kids up in college gifts from them. Victoria’s Secret usually doesn’t fit me well, but other than that… [Laughter].
Mike: My wife home-schools, and sometimes she’ll order books from catalogs like CBD, Christian Book Distributors, but not too often.
Karyna: I have to say I do not catalog shop, but I do Internet shop very much, because it’s easier to surf, to go from Pottery Barn to Crate and Barrel, for instance, to just kind of see what’s out there. I think one of the biggest reasons I go computer surfing is because I’ve seen what products are in the store and it’s just easier and convenient. I mean, the amount of money you’re paying for shipping you’d be spending on gas and parking, so it adds up, for me at least.
Anne: I do a lot of catalog shopping, more so than Internet because I’m one of those few people who really hate going on the computer. So I do a lot of shopping for my son [via catalogs]. Disney and Lands’ End Kids are really good for a lot of his stuff. Clothes for me I don’t do. It’s too hard to buy clothes, I think, from the Internet or a catalog without trying them on. I just have a problem with that.
Tara: I do a lot more Internet than catalog. But I have bought from catalogs. I’ve done Pottery Barn, I’ve done a lot from Lillian Vernon, like engraved things, personalized things for gifts. And I’ve bought from Sharper Image, but mostly I do Internet shopping.
Veronica: I prefer catalog shopping to Internet shopping. I just don’t like the computer. It’s easier to just pick the phone up and give them your credit card.
Anne: I won’t online shop unless I have the catalog in front of me, which sounds stupid, but I don’t want to have to talk to anybody. But I want to see from the catalog, a piece of paper, what I’m buying. Like I’ll look in the Disney catalog, but I’ll go online and order it.
Donna: I think Amazon has really made it a lot easier. They keep your information if you want them to, so it’s so easy. My dad lives in Ohio, and I’m always shipping him stuff from Amazon. I don’t have to worry about it, just pay the bill.
Karyna: I think certain Websites, with their three-dimensional aspects, have gotten really technical and better. They give you closeups of the swatches and things like that so that you get more of a feeling of what you’re actually buying — it’s more of an interactive kind of thing. The catalog, for me, is so flat — I don’t know what the back or the sides look like. Some Websites have gotten really good, you can see stitching and that kind of thing.
Lane: The Internet’s always there for you. When I want to buy something from Lands’ End, I just go to Landsend.com; it’s right there, I don’t have to see if I saved the catalog. And I can check the stock online.
Catalog Age: How often do you buy from catalogs? Do you tend to purchase more for the holiday season or for special occasions?
Karyna: Well, I’m a shopaholic. I think I’m on [the Internet] almost every single day, but I probably purchase once a week
Donna: I’m a holiday person. I’ll shop more from catalogs and Internet during the holidays, but mostly for kids.
Catalog Age: Is there anything that you wouldn’t buy from a catalog?
Nancy: Jewelry. Because I want to see it. I want to hold it. Feel the weight of it. I would never buy jewelry from catalogs. Or fine clothing, I don’t think I would buy that.
Tara: I think there’s a limit on what I would spend. If I’m spending over a certain amount of money, I’d want to physically be able to feel it, touch it, make sure it’s good quality.
Catalog Age: So a return policy wouldn’t change your mind about that?
Tara: Well, if you don’t like it you have to ship it back. I’d rather just see it and say, all right, I like it, or go to a store, know that I like it and then order it online. Then I’ll know that I’m going to like the item when I get it.
Donna: [Returning products] is a pain. I think Victoria’s Secret does a really good job at supplying the mailing labels, to make it easy, and they give you enough of a [time] window for you to try it on and send it back. I have [returned items], and they were very efficient about crediting my account, the proper timing, everything was good. As long as that works, I’m okay.
Lane: I won’t buy shoes or sneakers [from a catalog or online]. I want to be able to try them on, walk around, feel them. I need to try on five or six pairs before I know the one I want. So that is something that I stay away from.
Karyna: I’ve bought jewelry on the Internet, so that doesn’t really bother me. If it’s [a familiar] fragrance, yeah, I’ll buy it [online], but if it’s a new fragrance I just cannot, I’d have to smell it. Or makeup — I’d have to see the colors on my face. But some of the Websites have a good return policy, like you can go and return items at the store.
Nancy: I’ve made a purchase online or from the catalog and then just brought it back to the store. I’ve done that with Nordstrom’s and Bloomingdale’s.
Catalog Age: Do you tend to buy from the Websites or catalogs of retail stores that you’ve already been to and purchased from?
Lane: Yes.
Karyna: It’s easier because you know the quality of the product that you’re buying. But one of my favorite Websites to buy from is RedEnvelope, and I’ve never been to a RedEnvelope store. If you’ve had a good experience you’ll return to the Website, so if you’ve had a good experience in the store you’re more likely to go on their Website.
Veronica: I won’t do foods. Not from a catalog or the Internet…no. Not even holiday candy.
Lane: I’ve had good experiences with food. I order from Omaha Steaks all the time. Great stuff. They have everything, hamburgers, steaks. Premium.
Veronica: And they’re frozen?
Nancy: They pack them in dry ice.
Mike: Colorado Prime is another one.
Lane: Yeah, Colorado Prime. Do they have a Website or catalog?
Mike: Both.
Catalog Age: Why won’t you buy food by mail? Is it the quality, the taste?
Veronica: All of the above.
Anne: Where was it before it was put in a box and shipped to you? I don’t know, I wouldn’t do it.
Veronica: I’ll walk into the supermarket and at least I can see the meat. But to have it shipped to me, without actually seeing it, I have a thing with that.
Switching to S&H
Catalog Age: How do you feel about paying shipping and handling?
Nancy: It depends how much it is.
Tara: For me it doesn’t matter. If I don’t have to go to a store…because I go to so many bridal showers and baby showers…to not have to go in and ask for that list and walk around and nobody helps you. For me to just go on Babies ‘R’ Us on Amazon and click what I want. If it costs $50 to deliver it I don’t care. It’s just so much easier.
Karyna: I mean you’re paying for gas and parking anyway. The biggest benefit is that you can do it in your pajamas. You don’t have to get dressed up and go.
Donna: No, it’s a done deal. For shipping and handling, five dollars, six dollars, whatever. It’s fine.
Lane: Yes, and when you call up and the item’s out of stock, it’s okay, because I haven’t gone anywhere. If you go to the store and it’s out of stock you think, “I came all the way down here…”
Tara: Especially if you called two hours before and they said it was in stock!
Catalog Age: We touched on returns earlier. Specifically, how do you feel about dealing with catalog and Internet returns?
Nancy: Returning items you buy in a catalog, I just hate it. I’ll only buy items that I know will fit me. If I know what size it’s going to be, like with a shoe size, generally I know what styles will be comfortable.
Donna: It doesn’t bother me. I hate to go shopping now. I have no patience to go into the dressing room, get undressed, put your clothes back on. I’ll just buy the clothes, take them home, try them on when I’m ready, then if I don’t like them I’ll just take them back.
Catalog Age: What about returning something by mail?
Donna: Well, I’m a big picky shopper, so I’ll send it back. I don’t have a problem. They send me the return label, and basically you have to get your own envelope. What I do is I’ll lightly open up their envelope so that I can use that same envelope, tape it back together, and I take their label, stick it over the other label, and I drop it at the post office. I don’t have a problem with that, because it’s prepaid.
Lane: To be honest, I’d rather return to a catalog than to a store. Standing on line for 20, 30 minutes, it’s a hassle. The other way, I just drop it off at the post office on my way to work. It’s free, they give you the return envelope, throw it in, drop it off, you’re done. It’s easier than going to the store.
Veronica: I never return anything.
Nancy: Well, what do you do with it?
Veronica: If I go in the catalog and I see something that I want, I’m going to make sure that it fits. If it doesn’t fit I’ve got a tailor to take care of it.
Catalog Age: If it’s apparel and you’re not sure about the size, would you ever order a couple of sizes and then just return the size that doesn’t fit?
Karyna: I have. I’ve bought clothes in three different sizes. They’ve made it so convenient these days. You can return it to the store, or with the prepaid envelope you can just drop it off at the mailbox, or, if I’m lucky enough, the mail carrier comes and picks it up at my house.
Catalog Age: What most annoys you about ordering from catalogs or online?
Veronica: The first 25 minutes of information that you have to give them — your credit card, your address, your this and your that. The shipping address, and where it’s going. That’s the only thing. At [places where I’ve ordered before], like Lands’ End and L.L. Bean, they don’t need my card now. I just punch my member number up. And QVC, I love QVC too, they just sent me my new membership card. I like to just read off my numbers.”
Nancy: I think she’s a shopaholic too. [Laughter.]
Veronica: You know, they’ll try to get you to buy something else while you’re ordering. You’re not even finished with your first purchase and the [phone reps] come on with “Oh, we have a nice turtleneck sweater for half price.” I didn’t ask you, I didn’t even finish my first order. Things like that, that upsets me. Then I hang up.
Lane: You get the same thing in the store. If I go into a store the salesperson who’s helping me is going to try to get me to buy other stuff too.
Karyna: Yeah, but I like that. If you bought this, then why don’t you take a look at these other three items, I love that.
Veronica: But can’t I finish the first order first? If you’re ordering three pair of pants and two shirts, and they’re trying to throw a sweater on me, I forget what I went there for in the first place.
Karyna: But I’m talking about Internet. It’s all advertising. “If you like this item, then you’ll like…” — I love that. It’s like purchasing for dummies.
Catalog Age: Have any of you ordered through catalogs or online for work?
Anne: I do. All the time. I do a lot from Staples, I also order a lot of [dental] scrubs. Most everything.
Catalog Age: Do they send salespeople to the office?
Anne: They do sometimes, but I find them to be annoying. You’re working and then these people come in, and they’re like, “Buy from me, buy from me.” If they come in and put a catalog on my desk, say, “Here’s my card,” and then walk out, that’s fine, but some of them are horrible. I want them to come in, I want them to put the catalog down, and I want them to leave.
Mike: Memo to sales guys… [Laughter]
Anne: It sounds horrible, I know. I do [buy] scrub from catalogs, although I could do it from the Internet. In that case I prefer to use the catalogs because I like to speak to the person, I like to know exactly what size and color they’re sending me. On the Internet, I’ve ordered and then received [something different] — “We didn’t have this, so we sent you this color.” I think that’s awful. So I prefer to use the catalogs.
Too much or not enough?
Catalog Age: Do you feel that you get too many catalogs in the mail?
Nancy: Yeah, that does happen.
Veronica: Then there are just more catalogs to shop from.
Anne: Yeah, but I open my mail up right next to the garbage, so I just throw out anything that I don’t want, and keep what I want. I have my little basket of catalogs.
Karyna: You get junk mail all the time. Whether it’s in the mail or on the computer, you have the power to throw it away. Same thing when you go into the mall, you have the power to not go into the store.
Nancy: Some of us do. [Laughter]
Karyna: It’s curiosity, we all have it, so they’re banking on that.
Nancy: It works, though. I have a catalog that I’ve never heard of before, Country Door, or something like that. And I ordered some furnishings out of that catalog, even though I had never heard of it before.
Catalog Age: But you recognized it as something that you were interested in and you flipped through it?
Nancy: Yeah, I mean, unless the front page is cheesy — then I’ll just trash it.
Karyna: Even as you’re walking to the garbage can you’re still flipping through it. It’s curiosity: “Why did I get this?”
Catalog Age: Mike, is there anyway to get you to shop using catalogs?
Mike: I do mostly online, but I don’t do a whole lot of ordering. Online I buy basically books and music. That’s about it. For clothes I prefer to go to the store to buy. It’s nothing that [catalogers aren’t] doing. I just choose not to do that.
Catalog Age: Let’s wrap up by giving you a chance to tell catalogers and online marketers what you’d like them to change.
Nancy: I hate getting too many of the same catalogs. This happens with Bloomingdale’s — I get a catalog every week with the same stuff in it. I don’t need this catalog. It feels wasteful to me. I think it happens more around the holidays.
Anne: Every week you’ll get the same thing except one week there will be a snowman on the cover…
Nancy: Right, but it’s all the same stuff inside. Nordstrom’s and Bloomingdale’s, both, I get a lot of catalogs from both. Although I do order from them, so that’s part of the problem.
Karyna: With getting the catalog the second time, do you find yourself shopping?
Nancy: I generally don’t throw my catalogs away very quickly. I hold onto them for a while, and then I’ll throw them away in a month or something. What I’ll do when I get a second catalog like that is I’ll flip through it very quickly and just throw it away. I already have one in my basket that has the same stuff in it.
Donna: Victoria’s Secret has a big problem doing that. They don’t know when to quit. They’ll put the same outfits in there for like two years — time to move on to a different style. If you still have something in stock then obviously it’s not a big seller.
Lane: I don’t hold onto my catalogs. I get rid of them right away. I look through them, if there’s something I want I order it. If I don’t see anything I want then I get rid of it. Some times I get a new catalog and I don’t even open it. The catalog reminds me to go online. It served its purpose, it drove me to the sale, but I may not have even opened the catalog. So I get rid of them.
Catalog Age: What have been some of your better catalog or online shopping experiences?
Tara: I ordered my wedding invitations and napkins online, through a catalog. And the quality of the napkins…they were white with navy writing on them, and if your hand was wet the navy ran. So here I am in my wedding dress, and people are hugging me with navy all over their hands. I told the company, and they credited me back the whole thing, everything that I bought from them. They were definitely very fair about that.
Anne: Did you get any blue on your dress?
Tara: No.
Lane: Lands’ End has great customer service. I love them.
Veronica: Me too, they’re very good.
Lane: They always take care of me. I never have a problem. I’m involved with a Scouts group, and we buy our tents from Lands’ End, from the catalog. It’s happened that we’ve gotten tents from them, not cheap tents — these are $170, $180 a tent — and two years later we’ve sent them back for repairs, and they’ve looked at the tents and said, “This shouldn’t have happened,” and they’ve sent us new tents. That’s really standing behind your product. We buy everything from them now.
Karyna: Most reputable companies are very good with their customer service because today there are so many companies waiting for your business. I think that lately I’ve noticed that customer service has been taken up a notch.