Changing Channels

This is unsurprising; sez eMarketer:

According to the 2006 edition of "The National Directory of Catalogs," from Oxbridge Communications, the number of product catalogs in North America that were available only in an online format nearly doubled in 2005.

Online catalogs made up 78% of 11,438 catalog listings in 2005, compared to only 60% in 2004, and 1,320 of them were available online only. In 2004 only 772 of the catalogs listed were online only.

The reason for the migration is clear. As the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) reported late last year, printed catalogs accounted for 65% of multi-channel retail sales in 2002, but only 40% in 2005.

On the other hand, website and e-catalog sales rose from 14% to 30% of the total in the same period.