Mail Boosts the Web

A recent study by ComScore revealed that: "recipients of catalogs and direct mail efforts are more likely to visit the mailer's Web site and make a purchase than if no promotion is sent."

In other words, even if your sales strategy is centered on the Internet, it still pays to mail. See the whole article here...

Study: Direct Mail Boosts Online Traffic, Sales
By Hallie Mummert, editor in chief, Target Marketing and Inside Direct Mail

According to a recent study conducted by research firm comScore Networks Inc. on behalf of the U.S. Postal Service, recipients of catalogs and direct mail efforts are more likely to visit the mailer's Web site and make a purchase than if no promotion is sent.

Findings in "The Multichannel Catalog Study" show that 15 percent of people who receive a catalog and then go online to visit the sender's Web site make a purchase. Equally encouraging is that 13 percent of consumers who receive a non-catalog direct mail piece and visit the sender's Web site also place an order. Both statistics suggest the power of using print materials to drive online traffic and sales.

In other study findings, catalog recipients were discovered to make 16 percent more site visits, view 22 percent more Web pages and spend 15 percent more time on a site than consumers who didn't receive catalog promotions. Also, a company's existing customers were 33 percent more likely to buy from the firm's Web site after receiving a catalog than prospects.

ComScore surveyed online visitors to 40 retail Web sites in categories that include apparel, department store, home and garden, consumer electronics, and computer hardware and software. The research firm collected more than 6,400 responses to questions about shoppers' buying behaviors and observed the online behavior of more than 1 million U.S. consumers to identify Web traffic and shopping patterns.

For more survey findings and a topline report on "The Multichannel Catalog Study," visit www.usps.com/directmail.