Tag Archives: List Universe

Direct Mail Trends for Apparel Marketers – 1st Half 2010

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Paradysz Research

Like our recent analysis of Nonprofits, our Apparel Market Trends reports look at promotional activity, incentive trends, direct mail list universes, list costs, and new launches in the first half of 2010.

Apparel Monthly Promotion Activity

Several 1H 2010 stats, like promotion activity, show a leveling off of the negative trends seen in 2009. 2010 YTD promotion activity was up about 1% from the same period in 2009, with February showing the most significant increase (up 23 campaigns). While activity was on par from the previous year, mailers have pulled their promotions back over the past two and a half years — 2010 was down about 5% from the same period in 2008.

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Direct Mail Trends for Nonprofits – 1st Half 2010

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Paradysz Research

The latest Paradysz Research Market Trends reports for Nonprofits show that the first half of 2010 continued to be challenging.  An optimistic interpretation of our 1H 2010 stats shows a slight leveling off of the negative trends seen in 2009, but there have been no positive rebounds yet. Our recently released reports look at the first half of 2010 in terms of promotional activity (type and timing) and use of incentives, plus the mailing environment (how many names are available, list costs, what lists are growing).

Nonprofit Monthly Promotion Activity for 1H 2010

Most nonprofits are taking a pretty cautious approach to prospecting so far this year. Overall acquisition promotion activity was down 14% for the first half of 2010, an improvement of sorts over the 20% decline reported for 2009. Big sectors like Disease/Health were down even more (18%) as groups continue to strategically pull back select campaigns in response to soft performance and increased mailing costs. January, February and May saw the biggest declines.

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Direct Mail Trends for Nonprofits

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Paradysz Research

2009 was not a banner year for nonprofits, but organizations continue to build on lessons learned operating through challenging times.  

Paradysz Research’s MarketTrends reports for the nonprofit sector show that, like nearly all consumer categories, nonprofit organizations retrenched in 2009. Overall acquisition promotion activity for the sector decreased considerably in 2009 compared to the prior year, down nearly 20%. (Note: we track only new donor acquisition efforts.)  The biggest sectors like Humanitarian and Disease/Health were down the most as groups strategically pulled back mailings in response to soft performance and increased mailing costs. 

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Recent Trends in the Gifts Catalog Market

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Paradysz Research

Last month I highlighted some of our MarketTrends findings for the Apparel catalog sector, noting that while list universes were down in 2009, things were looking up for the area in 2010.

On the flip side, one of our other recent studies covers the Gifts/Collectibles market, and while our findings show similar universe losses, signs of a speedy turnaround are not quite as obvious.  To be sure, the economy and unemployment have a significant impact on sales for non-essential gift items.  But equally important are changes within the category itself.  With the product expansion we’ve seen in larger gift titles, flat or discount pricing strategies, and the growth of smaller boutique books, the catalog gift market seems to be in the midst of its own unique transition.

For clarity, what we currently call the “Gifts/Collectibles” market is made up of marketers with a year-round product mix focused primarily on gift giving.  Mailers in this category include a variety of well-known titles like Potpourri, Red Envelope and Signals.  We do not include toy catalogers in this set.

To illustrate some of the challenges from the past two years, below is a look at the active 12 month buyer universe for over 100 gift catalogs.

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Recent Trends in the Apparel Catalog Market

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Paradysz Research

There have been several positive signs for apparel marketers in 2010, but list universes are still lagging.

ParadyszMatera’s Research & Analysis group has started releasing the year-end 2009 MarketTrends reports for consumer marketers.  The full reports are available to clients only via MarketRelevance, but I will be providing some key findings to our blog readers over the next few weeks.  Below is a look at the consumer apparel sector.

We already know from talking to apparel marketers that there is a good deal of optimism (albeit reserved) for 2010, and there were several positive indicators from the second half of 2009 to back that up.  For marketers with a print catalog, mailing activity (i.e. unique apparel campaigns tracked through MarketRelevance) revived in the second half of 2009 after slumping earlier in the year.  Also heartening were the launch of several new titles, even if many were imports (NextDirect, Smart Turnout).  And finally, there was notable housefile growth from several key marketers like Athleta, Urban Outfitters and Victoria’s Secret.

So this confirms that individual marketers were still able to find some degree of success even in tough times.  Collectively, however, buyer file universes for the apparel category show that the sector continues to struggle (see chart below).

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Consumer Subscriber Lists See Expected Declines

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Paradysz Research

The publishing subscriber universe has experienced losses similar to other categories, but it remains a giant in terms of overall size and reach.

As the final installment on direct mail list universes for the first half of 2009, the following is a look at active subscriber file counts. I wish I could report that consumer magazines somehow bucked the sagging list trends reported for nonprofits and catalogs, but the fall off for magazine files is pretty much the same as every other category.  In fact, it’s a bit more severe if you look only at the past 12 months.

In 2Q 2009, active subscriber files totaled 210 million names.  Year-over-year this represents a decline of 9.8 million (4.5%) from 2Q 2008.  As 2007 and 2008 were relatively stable periods, the two-year decline (off 9.6 million or 4.4%) is essentially the same as the one-year decline.  The most recent numbers offer no respite, as 2Q 2009 was the lowest for the study period charted here.

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Nonprofit Donor Files Decline but Individual Successes Remain

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Paradysz Research

The overall mailable donor list universe continued to see losses in 1H 2009, but the decline may be slowing.

As part two of my update on direct mail list universes (click here for part one), below is a look at nonprofit donor file trends through the first half of 2009.  It’s no surprise that recession-wary consumers who have thought twice about heading out to the local mall have also thought twice about digging into their charitable pockets.  So like nearly all consumer categories (merchandise, apparel, publishing), donor files collectively have continued to trend downwards.

Nonprofit Universe 2Q 2009

In 2Q 2009, active donor files totaled 64 million names.  Year-over-year, this represents a decline of 1.9 million (3%) from 2Q 2008, and a 4.2 million (6.2%) decrease since 2007.  The quarterly trend offers slightly better news, as 2Q 2009 shows a smaller falloff than what was seen over the past few quarters.

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Catalog Buyer Files Continue to Reflect Tough Economy

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Paradysz Research

Most catalog sectors have seen universe declines over the past two years, but individual successes remain — especially for those with a focus on price and practicality.

WilliamsSonoma-CarolWrightA recent Metrics graph in The New York Times called Shoppers’ Shifting Priorities draws a not-too-pretty picture of retail sales from 2003 through 2009.  Dramatic falloffs abound, and not just for automobiles, but also apparel, home furnishings and department stores.  Folks that work in these beleaguered industries probably won’t be surprised to learn that the “liquor store” category is doing quite nicely.

The NYT study pulled data directly from the U.S. Census Bureau Retail Trade Report, which is a great (and free) resource for anyone looking for sales trends.  For direct marketers, another critical and more impactful measure of sector health can be found in housefile universes, specifically 12-month buyer counts.

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