When Mail Order Medical Supply (MOMS) took its catalog to the Web in July, it didn’t expect gangbuster online sales. “We were somewhat concerned about whether our audience of older adults was on the Web, but we wanted to be the first to have this type of medical supplies catalog out there,” says Michelle Tako, spokeswoman for the Valencia, CA-based cataloger, which sells home-care products such as bathroom safety items and mobility aids to care-givers for the elderly and the disabled.
But MOMS has been pleasantly surprised with its online results. The site receives two or three orders, 10 catalog requests, and roughly 40 visitors daily. A Web order averages $60, which is comparable to the average order from the print book, Tako says.
And so far, MOMS has spent no money on marketing beyond listing the URL on its print catalogs and on literature placed in outbound order packages, and registering the site with search engines. MOMS recently updated the site to add 150 products to the existing 1,000 items, so that the online store now carries the complete line of merchandise.