Australian catalogue lovers show themselves to be among the most engaged consumers, new research shows.

Readers not only stay focused on their catalogues, they also share items of interest with family and friends, plus catalogue content leads to store visits and buys that hadn’t been previously considered, according to Roy Morgan.

Nearly a third of the country’s 13.4 million catalogue readers go through their catalogues cover to cover, researchers looking at data in the first quarter of 2019 found.

Catalogue appeal also reaches roughly evenly across different generations. Millennials make up the biggest group, numbering more than 3.2 million. A further 3.16 million Baby Boomers help make up the total, along with 3.16 million Generation Xers, and 2.5 million Generation Z readers; 1.4 million readers are part of the oldest Pre-Boomers generation.

Many catalogue readers choose to share content through digital media, which researchers say means catalogues are, in effect, achieving secondary circulation. More than a third of readers (35%) have shared hard copy content, while four in ten (41%) have shared digitally either by emailing or texting a photo of a product.

Researchers also found catalogues drive a significant number of people towards purchase by triggering them to make store visits.

They also trigger high-value unintended buys; nearly half of readers (47%) have made a special in-store visit to buy a product seen in a catalogue that they wouldn’t have bought otherwise.

One in five catalogue readers who spent over A$1,000 on their most expensive catalogue purchase in an average six-month period bought an item they hadn’t intended to buy before they saw it advertised.

More than half of those quizzed (53%) said they find catalogues the most useful form of advertising.

“Catalogues are still very relevant and remain a key channel to reach Australian consumers despite the proliferation of digital media in recent years,” said Michele Levine, CEO of Roy Morgan.

“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.”

Sourced from Roy Morgan; additional content by WARC staff