Research section includes whitepapers, studies, and reports covering various aspects of the catalog business, with recent additions to this section including the "Multichannel Merchant Catalog Survey", "EMA Mailing Industry Jobs Study", "ACMA's Catalog Industry Fact Sheet", "ACMA on External Cost Drivers", and "ACMA Survey of Consumers". All publications in this section are available free online.
Annual publication provides detailed statistics and information for various direct marketing channels, with topics addressed in "Chapter 3: Direct Mail and Catalog" including types of catalogs produced, methods used in finding and selecting products, purpose of catalogs in addition to selling products, catalog effectiveness, catalogs mailed per year, and changes in print circulation and page counts.
Multichannel Merchant
http://www.multichannelmerchant.com/
Online resource provides news and information for companies that sell retail merchandise directly to
consumers, with resources specific to the catalog industry including the "Catalog" news channel that
features news articles for this industry and the annual "MCM Outlook: Catalogs" report that provides
insights and information on how catalogs are used in promoting and selling products to consumers.
MCM Outlook: Catalogs
http://www.multichannelmerchant.com/
Annual outlook report provides insights and information on how catalogs are utilized in promoting and
selling products to consumers, with topics covered in the report including types of catalogs produced,
purpose of print catalog in addition to selling products, catalog effectiveness, and changes in catalog
page counts, circulation, and frequency for the current year and expected changes in the year ahead.
Market research report analyzes the U.S. market for consumer products sold via catalogs, direct mail, and TV shopping, with information provided including historical and forecast sales by product category (e.g., beauty and personal care, apparel, consumer electronics, do-it-yourself and gardening products, consumer appliances, housewares, home care and furnishings, media products, and food and drink).
Market analysis report provides industry statistics for a user-defined area on a national, state, county, metro area, or zip code level, with data provided including number of companies, market volume and sales trends, average company sales, sales per employee, staffing and employment trends, average employee wage, and business start up activity and failure rates. Sample report can be viewed online.
Financial benchmarking section of this report provides an analysis of industry income and expenses as a percentage of revenue by major category (e.g., purchases, wages, depreciation, marketing, rent, utilities, other costs, and earnings before interest and taxes) for the most recent year and line graphs indicating trends for each category over the past five years. Sample report can be viewed free online.
Annual employment and wage survey provides hourly and annual wage data for personnel employed in this retail sector that includes firms that promote and sell products such as health and beauty aids, clothing and accessories, footwear, household goods, home furnishings, consumer electronics, toys and games, and sporting goods directly to consumers using direct mail, catalogs, and TV advertising.
Free online service provides salary, bonus, and hourly wage data for job positions in this retail sector such as marketing manager, call center manager, product buyer, inventory planner, graphic designer, and copywriter, with employers for which compensation data is provided including The Swiss Colony, LLC, Figi's, Inc., The Orvis Company, Inc., LTD Commodities, LLC, and Oriental Trading Company.