One of our favorite blogs and a go-to for print industry news is What They Think!. This article is from Heidi Tolliver-Walker, breaking down the numbers from a recent Quad survey on 4th quarter shopping habits.
Digital screens? Bah, humbug! Shoppers are rediscovering the value of the tangible. This is one of the key takeaways from Quad’s latest report, “The Return of Touch Report: Holiday Shopping, Reconnected.”
In the survey, conducted September 18-20 by the Harris Poll, Quad found that Americans value in-store shopping as a holiday ritual and are increasingly focused on shopping local. As part of this re-connection with the physical world, they are also e-engaging with printed catalogs.
According to the report, 70% of Americans see catalogs as a good starting point for holiday shopping, and 69% agree that catalogs often spark gift ideas they wouldn’t have found online.
The latter is an interesting data point, considering the now-ubiquity of personalized recommendations. But personalized recommendation engines have their downsides, too: “We only show you what we think you’ll like.” We all love the curated recommendations, but what happens if there’s something we might like that the recommendation engine is hiding from us? FOMO!
Tapping the Value of the Experience
Catalogs also tap into the growing value shoppers are placing on experience. There is a big difference between doom scrolling on Amazon and sitting on the couch, sipping a great cup of coffee, and flipping through a well-designed printed catalog.
Quad’s research found:
- 69% say catalogs turn gift inspiration into an enjoyable experience rather than a chore.
- 68% find catalogs more relaxing than scrolling online.
- 51% plan to rely more on catalogs this year to reduce online scrolling.
Can you just see a woman in a Santa hat curled up on the couch, steaming cup o’ Joe in her hand, and a catalog on her lap? (In case you’re having trouble visualizing, we created an AI-generated image to help you.)
Give Me That Old-Fashioned Emotional Connection
Then there is that emotional connection. According to the survey, 42% of Americans feel excited when a holiday catalog arrives, rising to 54% of Gen Z and 51% of Millennials. Forty-one percent (41%) say receiving a catalog makes them feel more connected to the retailer, increasing to 52% of Gen Z and 50% of Millennials.
One of the reasons that shoppers feel more connected? Because they are physically interacting with the printed catalog pages in their hands:
- 42% mark or circle items they’d like to give.
- 36% mark items they’d like to receive.
- 29% scan QR codes or visit product websites directly from catalogs, rising to 49% of Gen Z and 39% of Millennials.
Like picking up a puppy in the pet store—you pick it up (interact with it), the more you like it.
Print Hangs Around
Marketers like print, too, because it sticks around. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Indeed, nearly one in four (39%) survey respondents keeps catalogs in their homes throughout the season, and another 39% share them with household members.
Furthermore:
- 37% of survey respondents use catalogs to start conversations with kids or family about holiday wish lists.
- 60% revisit catalogs multiple times throughout the season.
- 59% share and discuss catalog gift ideas with others.
In this industry, we know that printed catalogs have power, and the Quad survey gives us more insight into why. It’s not only the fact that it’s tangible. It’s all the things we do becauseit’s tangible. We sit with it, we spill coffee on it, we circle things and circle back to look at them again. We share it with others. That’s quite a stat sheet for a stack of bound paper.
