Catalog Circulation

The recession has been tough for many catalog retailers. Recently announced cuts and operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service will burden catalog retailers even further in 2012. That said, catalog retailers can take actions now to improve profitability and competitiveness. Like losing weight or quitting smoking, these five New Year’s resolutions will lead to greater financial and operational health in 2012.

Zumbox, a digital postal mail service, announced an agreement with Catalog Choice, a mail preference service. In the first quarter of 2012, Zumbox digital mail users will be able to opt out of catalogs, donation requests, circulars and other printed brochures through their Zumbox account. As a result of the partnership, which is the first of its kind in the industry, Catalog Choice members will be able to claim their Zumbox, a digital postal mailbox tied to an individual's verified street address, from within their Catalog Choice account.

A young man is making great strides in the modeling world despite what many might see as an impediment — Down syndrome. His name is Ryan and he appears in the new Target circular, just months after an appearance in the Nordstrom catalog.

A unit driver is simply a product that sells in high quantity. Why do unit drivers matter? High unit sales tell you a product has broad appeal, and broad appeal means higher response rates from a wide range of consumers — like prospects.

Google Catalogs has doubled its collection of catalogs to include more than 100 brands and 300 individual catalogs from brands such as Williams-Sonoma, Sephora and Nordstrom.

Toys"R"Us is making its annual holiday print catalog digitally available via email, Facebook and the retailer's website. The print book also features QR codes that can be scanned for additional product information.

Neiman Marcus is known for the outrageously beautiful and unique merchandise showcased in its annual Christmas Book. For this holiday season, Google Catalogs has collaborated with Neiman Marcus to offer you a free, browsable copy of this year’s Christmas Book.

This month, Express is enhancing the customer experience by launching its first-ever catalog in many different channels. The company studied its customer and found that customers want to shop in many different ways. To accompany customer wants, Express added e-commerce, m-commerce and f-commerce to its resume over the last few years and the catalog seems to be the next logical step.

While many other retailers are increasing the number of outlet stores they operate, J.C. Penney is getting out of the business altogether. The retailer has reached a deal to sell 19 of its outlet stores to SB Capital. The department store chain made the decision to get out of operating the stores at the same time it is closing its print catalog business.

Producing catalogs using what used to be catalog best practices — is now almost a lost art. Can I cover the lost art of cataloging for you in 1,000 words? No way. But I can lay out some best practices to help lead the way.