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While the catalog had long been a mainstay of the U.S.-Canada retail experience in times past -- particularly the holiday catalogs produced by Sears, Neiman Marcus, and JCPenney -- it appears that one major retailer is betting big on a return to the physical format: Walmart.
In a breakdown of the blue-and-yellow brand's most recent August campaign involving the production and delivery of physical catalogs to a variety of customers -- new, existing, and lapsed -- Modern Retail's Mitchell Parton made his take clear.
"The catalog, published in August for the fall season, shows off products such as sofas, tables, appliances, rugs, pillows and blankets in the context of bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens. The pages point readers to Walmart’s website, where they can shop for the pictured items through text and QR codes. It’s indicative of how Walmart is experimenting with new ways to convey its home business moving forward after its merchants have worked to broaden its assortment," Parton wrote, noting that the aim for the catalog was to prime customers for upcoming holiday spend.
"The publication is a symbol both of the lasting utility of print catalogs as a marketing tool and of Walmart wanting to redefine itself as a retailer for both low- and high-income shoppers that delivers high-quality yet affordable products," he added.
Walmart's Physical Home Catalog: A Place for High Style and Quality To Shine in Static Creative
Creighton Kiper, SVP of home for Walmart U.S., spoke to the notion that the home catalog provided a piece of static creative that could be leveraged more broadly as a showpiece -- a signal that style and quality were accessible to shoppers of all income demographics.
Further, as Kiper underscored, the execution of this catalog was lightning-fast: The catalog was brainstormed and executed in full this year. And while the exec was cited as saying that impression and engagement figures surrounding Walmart's holiday-targeting catalog had soundly beaten the retailer's expectations, it remained unclear whether any further issues would be produced.
“This is very much a strategy around making sure top-of-mind consideration, awareness and reappraisal was being done for our customers — new customers and existing customers. [These include] customers who shop our box for other products, but maybe it’s been a while since they’ve seen our dinner plates or rugs or throws or candles,” Kiper said.
“All customers are looking for some form of inspiration [in] designing, decorating or giving a punch to our room or a space. Our strategy is to democratize style, but it’s also to bring style and joy to every space that our customer has, and to do that affordably and effortlessly," he added.
Hard copy catalogs may not be as extinct as previously believed, either. Parton quoted Polly Wong, president of marketing firm Belardi Wong, as highlighting that every one of her 300-plus retail clients put forth at least some form of direct-mail presence.
“Whether it’s full-size catalogs or folded pieces or postcards, most retailers recognize at this point that you have to have a marketing mix across online and offline channels to really reach the consumer,” Wong said.
“Because of the algorithms, when it comes to digital targeting, you’ve got about a 20% chance of reaching who you want to when you want to. … You really can’t just rely on digital channels.”