Retailers on Australia’s online consumer catalogue portal, CatalogueCentral.com.au, are taking a digital approach this Mothers Day, advertising the latest gadgets for gifting via their online catalogue.
However, this gift guide gives an immediate return to the retailer, with each receiving real-time performance reports on how consumers are interacting with their catalogues, effectively compiling a ‘live’ market research report on the popularity of products and product categories.
The online catalogues of consumer electronic retailers including Dick Smith, Sony Central, Tandy and the Shaver Shop are experiencing strong popularity in gadgets such as personal music players, mobile phones and digital cameras, even satellite navigation systems.
“The advantage to retailers is Catalogue Central’s ability to extract how consumers are reading or engaging with catalogues,” says Catalogue Central managing director, Robert Wong.
“The software system can provide immediate feedback via analytics; tracking every mouse click enabling them to report on exactly how shoppers are viewing catalogues online. This provides unprecedented information on how their marketing material is received – we can follow the popularity of various items when viewed within the catalogue and can be cross-referenced against actual sales.
“The Catalogue Central service is not just for special gift occasions. Print catalogues play an important role in helping consumers to make purchasing decisions, now retailers can understand them more intimately and immediately, as consumers are assured the traditional browsing experience is no longer denied to them just because of shopping online.
“With the trend this year towards digital Mothers Day presents, the research involved in making such a purchase is often quite daunting. Now there is one common portal where special deals and product offerings of Australia’s leading retailers can be compared that is paperless, pressure less and open 24:7 – it’s an easy and environmentally-friendly way to research and find a present,” says Wong.