Merchants may have been desperate for last-minute holiday sales this year, but catalog mailing volume took a dive in December, according to numbers compiled by the Greenwich, CT-based list firm Direct Media.
Direct Media’s Catalog Tracker service received 260 catalogs in its mailbox in December 2008, down 12% from the 295 it received in December 2007.
Though volume was down, merchants mailing did try to drive sales with incentives in December.
Free shipping promotions increased from 19% in December 2007 to 26% in December 2008. Deferred billing promotions increased from 6% in December 2007 to 7% in December 2008.