Brief Decline of Internet Sales?
05/09/08 11:36 Filed in: In the News
In a report issued by Direct Marketing News, catalog/Internet retailers reported a slide in Internet sales as a percentage of total direct sales (Direct Marketing Association’s 2008 State of the Catalog Industry report). This is puzzling marketing experts because Internet sales have been on a continual climb for over a decade.
But the stat may be misleading, since survey respondents may not have counted sales driven by search marketing and social networking activity. But even if the results are on the mark, the decline of Internet sales in the total direct sales dropped by only 2%. In 2004, Internet sales were reported as 38% of that year’s total direct sales; the 2007 survey lists Internet sales as 36%.
Sales may have been lost -- if they were -- because many major catalogers chose to significantly cutback or forego mailing printed catalogs to Internet customers, relying on past data that indicated pure Internet customers were not as reponsive as retail customers to catalogs. In terms of overall sales, 68% of catalog/Internet retailers reported an increase in 2007, a one point decline from 2006.
But the stat may be misleading, since survey respondents may not have counted sales driven by search marketing and social networking activity. But even if the results are on the mark, the decline of Internet sales in the total direct sales dropped by only 2%. In 2004, Internet sales were reported as 38% of that year’s total direct sales; the 2007 survey lists Internet sales as 36%.
Sales may have been lost -- if they were -- because many major catalogers chose to significantly cutback or forego mailing printed catalogs to Internet customers, relying on past data that indicated pure Internet customers were not as reponsive as retail customers to catalogs. In terms of overall sales, 68% of catalog/Internet retailers reported an increase in 2007, a one point decline from 2006.