New research from Roy Morgan has shown that even in today’s digitally-focused media landscape, catalogues remain highly relevant and are engaging audiences across multiple generational brackets.
The research analysed Australia’s 13.4 million catalogues readers and found that Millennials are the largest readers of catalogues in Australia, numbering over 3.2 million. Over 3.16 million Baby Boomers read catalogues, putting that generational bracket just ahead of the over 3.15 million members of Generation X.
Generation Z is next with over 2.5 million catalogue readers while just on 1.4 million catalogue readers are part of the Pre-Boomers generation.
As well as detailing who is reading catalogues the research also found out how people are using catalogues and found that they play a significant role on the path to purchase by driving people in store and triggering high value unintended purchase.
Nearly half of catalogue readers (47%) have made a special trip to a store to buy a product after seeing it in a catalogue – which they otherwise would not have seen without reading the catalogue.
Additionally, more than half (53%) of catalogue readers find catalogues more useful than other forms of advertising.
Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan, says: “The latest research into Australia’s catalogue industry has uncovered that catalogues are still very relevant and remain a key channel to reach Australian consumers despite the proliferation of digital media in recent years. In fact a clear majority of 70% of Australia’s 13.4 million catalogue readers say that catalogues are a helpful shopping tool and over half (53%) find catalogues more useful than other forms of advertising.
“Catalogues are also a great way to entice people to consider purchasing items they may not have originally even been aware of. Nearly half of Australia’s catalogue readers (47%) have seen a product in a catalogue and then made a special trip to a store to buy the product which they otherwise would not have seen without reading the catalogue.
“Catalogue readers are avid consumers of content and close to a third read catalogues cover-to-cover and spend an average of six minutes reading catalogues. An added bonus for advertisers utilising the reach of catalogues is that over a third of catalogue readers share their catalogues with friends and families and over two-fifths have emailed or texted a picture of a product to a friend or family member.
“There’s little doubt that if you are looking for a way to reach hard-to-find and time-poor consumers that catalogues offer a direct route to the ‘eyeballs’ of over 13.4 million Australians.”