A nationwide sample of professionals who use retail catalogs (n = 493) was segmented based on benefits sought. Using a cluster analysis, three distinct segments of catalog users were identified: Convenience Seekers, Product Seekers, and Inactive Shoppers. Full profiles of these benefit segments were developed based on personal (demographics and lifestyle) and situational (purchase for self vs. for others; gifts vs. non-gifts) variables. Convenience Seekers, who tended to use catalogs out of convenience, were more likely to be married professionals with highest levels of self-confidence and fashion-consciousness and to use clothing catalogs most frequently for both themselves and others. Product Seekers, who exhibited interest in product-related benefits (e.g., quality, variety, price, and ease of return), tended to be married professionals and most price-conscious. Inactive Shoppers, displaying the lowest importance level for all identified benefits, tended to be married male professionals with lowest levels of fashion-consciousness and self confidence and to use catalogs least frequently. Strategic implications for catalog retailers were drawn from the findings.
Bartos, R. (1982). The Moving target: What every marketer should know about women. New York: The Free Press.
2.
Belk, R. (1977). Gift-giving behavior. College of Commerce and Business Administration, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
3.
Berkowitz, E., Walker, O., & Walton, J. (1979). In-home shoppers: The market for innovative distribution systems. Journal of Retailing, 55, 15-33.
4.
Blashfield, R.K. (1976). Mixture model test of cluster analysis: Accuracy of four agglomerative hierarchical methods. Psychological Bulletin,83, 377-388.
5.
Braun, H. (1993). The catalog shopper of the '90s. Direct Marketing, 55(11), 15-18.
6.
Braus, P. (1993). Sex and the single spender. American Demographics, 15(11), 28-34.
7.
Cassill, N. (1986). The influence of female consumers' employment orientation on life style and evaluative criteria of apparel. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
8.
Cassill, N. (1990). Employment orientation of women as a market segmentation variable for apparel. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal , 9(1), 59-64.
9.
Cassill, N., & Drake, M. (1987). Employment orientation's influence on lifestyle and evaluative criteria for apparel. Home Economics Research Journal, 19(1), 23-35.
10.
Chevan, H. (1996). America loves mail order. Catalog Age, 13(3), 1, 32.
11.
Clarke, K., & Belk, R. (1979). The effects of product involvement and task definition on anticipated consumer effort. In W. Wilkie (Ed.), Advances in consumer research, Vol. 6 ( pp. 313-318). Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Consumer Research.
12.
Darian, J. (1987). In-home shopping: Are there consumer segments?Journal of Retailing, 63(2), 163-186.
13.
Dickson, P.R. (1982). Person-situation: Segmentation's missing link . Journal of Marketing,46, 56-64.
14.
Dillman, D. (1978). Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method . New York: Wiley.
15.
Eastlick, M., & Feinberg, R. (1994). Gender differences in mail-catalog patronage motives . Journal of Direct Marketing, 8(2), 37-44.
16.
Gordon, H. (1994). Retailers are ready for relationship marketing . Direct Marketing, 56(9), 38-44.
17.
Green, P.E., & Krieger, A.M. (1991). Segmenting markets with conjoint analysis. Journal of Marketing,55(4), 20-31.
18.
Hair, J., Anderson, R., Tatham, R., & Black, W. (1995). Multivariate data analysis (4th ed). New York: Macmillan.
19.
Haley, R.I. (1968). Benefit segmentation: A decision-oriented research tool. Journal of Marketing,32, 30-35.
20.
Heeler, R., Francis, J., Okechuku, C., & Reid, S. (1979). Gift versus personal use brand selection. In W. Wilkie (Ed.), Advances in consumer research, Vol. 6 ( pp. 325-328). Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Consumer Research.
21.
Hirschman, E. (1981). Women's self-ascribed occupational status and retail patronage. In K. B. Monroe (Ed.), Advances in consumer research, Vol. 8 (pp. 648-654). Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Consumer Research.
22.
Hudson, J. (1995). Nonstore retailing: Paper remains king. Chain Store Age Executive, 71(8(section 2)), 27A-29A.
23.
Hyde, L. (1993). Cross competition escalates battle for market share. Chain Store Age Executive, 69(8(section 2)), 11A-14A.
24.
Jasper, C., & Lan, P. (1992). Apparel catalog patronage: Demographic, lifestyle and motivational factors. Psychology & Marketing, 9(4), 275-296.
25.
Joyce, M., & Gultinan, J. (1978). The professional woman: A potential market segment for retailers. Journal of Retailing, 54(2), 59-70.
26.
Kamakura, W.A. (1988). A least squares procedures for benefit segmentation with conjoint experiments. Journal of Marketing Research, 25, 157-167.
27.
Kiener, S. (1995). The future of mail order. Directing Marketing, 57(9), 27-31.
28.
Kim, Y. ( 1991). Professional women's catalog use and its relationships with their clothing involvement and lifestyle. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Greensboro.
29.
Kuiper, F.K., & Fisher, L. (1975). A Monte Carlo comparison of six clustering procedure . Biometrics, 31, 777-783.
30.
Kwon, Y., Paek, S., & Arzeni, M. (1991). Catalog vs. non-catalog shoppers of apparel: Perceived risks, shopping orientations, demographics, and motivations. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 10(1), 13-19.
31.
Lavin, M. (1993). Wives' employment, time pressure, and mail/phone order shopping. Journal of Direct Marketing, 7(1), 42-49.
32.
Lumpkin, J., & Hawes, J. (1985). Retailing without stores: an examination of catalog shoppers. Journal of Business Research, 13(2), 139-151.
33.
Mattson, B.E. (1982). Situational Influences on store choice. Journal of Retailing, 58(3), 47-58.
34.
McCorkle, D., Planchon, J., & James, W. (1987). In-home shopping: A critical review and research agenda. Journal of Direct Marketing, 1,5-21.
35.
Miller, P. (1998). Seeking even faster growth. Catalog Age, 15(7), 123, 126.
36.
Milligan, G.W. (1981). A review of Monte Carlo tests of cluster analysis . Multivariate Behavioral Research, 16, 379-407.
37.
Mojena, R. (1977). Hierarchical grouping methods and stopping rules: An evaluation. The computer Journal, 20, 359-363.
38.
Petrison, L., Blattberg, R., & Wang, P. (1993). Database marketing: Past, present, and future . Jounial of Direct Marketing, 7(3), 27-43.
39.
Reynolds, F. (1974). An analysis of catalog buying behavior. Journal of Marketing, 38, 47-51.
40.
Rosenberg, L., & Hirschman, E. (1980). Retailing without stores. Harvard Business Review, 58, 103-112.
41.
Ryans, A. (1977). Consumer gift buying: An exploratory analysis . In B. A. Greenberg and D. N. Bellenger (Eds.), Contemporary marketing thought (pp. 99-115). Chicago: American Marketing Association.
42.
Seitz, V. (1987). Patronage behavior of nonusers, users, and heavy users of catalogs for clothing purchases. Unpublished doctoral dissertation , Oklahoma State University, Stillwater .
43.
Seitz, V., Wiener, J., & Massey, T. (1988). Identifying the fashion conscious catalog shopper . In R. L. King (Ed.), Proceedings of the National Conference: Retailing: Its Present and Future , Vol. 4 (pp. 182-185). Charleston, SC: Academy of Marketing Science.
44.
Shim, S., & Bickle, M.C. (1994). Benefit segments of the female apparel market: Psychographics, shopping orientations, and demographics. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 12(2), 1-12.
45.
Shim, S., & Drake, M. (1990). Consumer intention to purchase apparel by mail order: Beliefs, attitude, and decision process variables. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 9(1), 18-26.
46.
Shim, S., & Kotsiopulos, A. (1992). Patronage behavior of apparel shopping: Part I. Shopping orientations, store attributes, information sources, and personal characteristics. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 10(2), 48-57.
47.
Shim, S., & Mahoney, M. (1992). The elderly mail-order catalog user of fashion products. Journal of Direct Marketing, 6(1), 49-58.
48.
Smallwood, V., & Wiener, J. (1987). Light and heavy catalog shoppers of clothing. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 5(3), 25-30.
49.
Statistical Fact Book1992/93, Direct Marketing Association.
50.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1997). Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1997. U.S. Department of Commerce.
51.
Wells, W., & Tigert, D. (1971). Activities, interests and opinions. Journal of Advertising Research, 11(4), 27-35.
52.
Wilkie, W. (1990). Consumer behavior (3rd ed). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
53.
Zaichkowsky, J. (1986). Conceptualizing involvement. Journal of Advertising, 15(2), 4-34.
