Even with what he considers to be signs of second-half slowdown in the economy and in overall business, futurist Donald Libey says the outlook for the catalog industry remains positive through 2007.
In his July Economic Outlook, Libey recommends catalogers maintain normal to increased strategies for circulation and investment prospecting plans, likely not more than 10% to 15%.
“The economy is likely to slow in the second half, but there are no indications or good reasons for reductions in either prospecting or customer circulation, or both, in the last half of the year,” Libey said in the report. “Businesses and consumers continue to spend money.”
Catalogers may be tempted to cut back on fall/holiday circulation because of the May postal rate hike. But Libey cautions against decreasing prospecting or customer mailings, except for normal hygiene and mailing frequency improvements.