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People Who Move Want To Keep Getting Their Favorite Catalogs ... And Then Some


WEBWIRE

WASHINGTON—Participants in the new Catalog Request Card Service, available through the Postal Service’s MoversGuide Online at usps.com, are choosing to receive an average of six retail catalogs after they move. With a response rate of more than 25 percent, early results show that people not only want to continue receiving their favorite catalogs, but are requesting an average of four new catalogs.

Available since mid-September, the Catalog Request Card Service is an expanded offering of the U.S. Postal Service’s official Internet Change of Address form. The service also is available with the printed Mover’s Guide found in Post Offices. In the first two months of the program, nearly 256,000 people have requested more than 1.5 million catalogs.

“Unlike First-Class Mail and periodicals, catalogs are not usually forwarded to customers when they move,” said Charlie Bravo, senior vice president for Intelligent Mail and Address Quality. “That’s why we’re providing this service—so that people can have their favorite catalogs on hand when they’re needed most, to organize their homes quickly and easily when it’s convenient for them.”

According to Imagitas, the Postal Service’s partner in this program, consumers spend an average of $7,100 on relocation-related goods in the weeks following a move. In addition to helping retailers stay connected with their customers during this hyperspend period, the Catalog Request Card Service cuts down on the number of catalogs that are sent to people who may not want them. Currently, there are 25 participating retailers, including Coldwater Creek, HP Shopping, Lands’ End, Plow & Hearth, Pottery Barn, The Sharper Image, Smith + Noble, and Spiegel.

This is how the program works: After customers complete the Internet Change of Address form, they have the option of selecting specific catalogs—current or new—or of choosing “No Thanks.” The Catalog Request Card in the printed Mover’s Guide also is optional.

According to the Direct Marketing Association, print catalog sales are expected to hit $152 billion this year, up from $143 billion in 2004; and nearly six out of 10 catalog shoppers keep a catalog they order from for at least three months.


Since 1775, the Postal Service and its predecessor, the Post Office Department, has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits 142 million homes and businesses every day, six days a week and is the only service provider delivering to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $69 billion, it is the world’s leading provider of mailing and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world’s mail volume-some 206 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year-and serves seven and a half million customers each day at its 37,000 retail locations nationwide. Its website, usps.com, attracts more than 21 million visitors each month.

About Imagitas
Imagitas, a Pitney Bowes Company, was founded in 1992. The company provides privacy-protected access to hard-to-reach consumer audiences through public/private partnerships with state and federal agencies. Imagitas’ solutions offer government agencies an innovative, reliable way to decrease costs and improve customer service while enabling retailers and service providers to communicate effectively with high-involvement, in-market customers. Imagitas’ government partners include the U.S. Postal Service and several state DMVs. For more information about Imagitas, visit www.imagitas.com



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