A recent study from Broomfield, CO-based Abacus and its Abacus B2C Alliance proves false the belief that catalogs mailed into store trade areas cannibalize store sales. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. The results of the study show that call center and Website response rates were much lower in primary trade areas compared with secondary and tertiary trade areas. Additionally, response rates of mailings outside the trade areas were, on average, 5% higher than those within the trade areas.
“These results show what every good direct marketer knows, that within the complexity of the data lies hidden opportunities,” says Casey Carey, vice president of marketing for Abacus. “In this instance, a better understanding of your trade areas and the development and testing of store-driver versions of your offers could prove to deliver positive results.”