(Bloomfield, CO; June 11, 2002; PRNewswire) Abacus, a division of DoubleClick Inc., the leading data and research provider to the direct-marketing industry, has released its Spring Catalog Industry Trend Report, which reveals that catalog sales held steady while online transactions continued to increase year-over-year. In addition, the data found that online buyers accounted for the highest percentage of sales in high-ticket, outdoor/leisure oriented product categories.

Consumers Continue to Shift Their Purchases Online

Despite the downturn in the economy and post 9/11, catalog sales remained relatively steady for 2001, with a less than 1% decrease from 2000. During the same time frame, online sales experienced the highest growth of any channel, with a 47% increase in dollar spending from 2000 to 2001. In addition, consumers who typically use retail stores and catalog call centers are increasingly making their purchases through a web site:

-- The percentage of retail buyers who bought online increased from 7.3%

in 2000 to nearly 10% in 2001. The percentage of catalog buyers who

bought online increased from 7% in 2000 to nearly 9% in 2001.

 

-- For a segment of multi-channel merchants who have a catalog and an

online channel, online sales increased steadily from 10% to 26% from Q1

2000 through Q4 2001.

 

-- Seasonal purchasing behavior and customer profiles continue to vary

across channels. November is the strongest month for catalog sales with

11% of annual sales occurring in that month, while retail and online

sales both peak in December with 15% and 13% of annual sales

respectively.

"We are seeing that multi-channel marketers have rapidly adopted a channel shift in their business which has important implications on how staffing and inventory control decisions are made, and demonstrates that catalogers require a complete understanding of the interaction of all their channels to achieve success," said Brian Rainey, President of Abacus. "Therefore, an analysis of the catalog industry that focuses only on catalog results is no longer complete, since a catalog mailing may result in a mail order purchase, an online transaction or a store visit."

*Online Buyers Account For Highest Percentage of Sales in Outdoor/Leisure Categories

*The data indicates that the importance of channel shift varies by product

category. Products that cater to younger, more affluent, outdoor/leisure

oriented audiences have been impacted the most. The following categories had

the highest percentage of sales from its online channel in 2001:

*Recreational and Outdoor Enthusiast - 41%

*High-Ticket Male and Female Apparel - 36%

*Auto Parts and Accessories - 29%

*Teen Apparel and Shoes - 28%

*Hunting and Fishing - 28%

The following categories, which generally target a senior, lower-income audience, had the lowest percentage of sales from its online channel in 2001:

*Vitamins and Supplements - 7%

*Senior Living - 7%

*Low-Ticket Male Apparel - 8%

*Low-Ticket Beauty - 10%

"The data interpretation and analysis of this report can help catalogers evaluate their audience and current market trends more efficiently, allowing marketers to make improved strategic decisions in 2002," continued Rainey, President of Abacus.

The Trend Report is compiled from the Abacus Alliance database which consists of transactional information from 1,800 clients containing 3.91 billion transactions from 90 million U.S. households. Analyzing year-over-year purchasing behavior, the Report is used as a strategic planning tool by the catalog industry, which compares their own business trends to industry benchmarks to identify new opportunities. The report analyzes the growth and decline of catalog categories compared to the previous year, as well as dollar spending and household trends.

The Report is published twice a year, in the Spring and Fall, by Abacus Market Research for the benefit of its Alliance members and industry partners. For more information on the Abacus trend report, please go to: http://www.abacus-direct.com .

About Abacus

Abacus, a division of DoubleClick Inc., is the leading data and research provider to the direct marketing industry, managing the nation's largest proprietary transactional database of behavioral data from catalog, retail, BtoB, eCommerce and publishing markets. The Abacus Alliance combines the power of shared data with proprietary modeling techniques to help Alliance participants improve profitability. In addition, Abacus offers multi-channel marketing solutions which includes an analysis tool to help users determine the ROI of an email or direct marketing campaign across the user's Web, retail stores and catalog call centers.