Thursday, June 12, 2014

I'm Not Buying It

Having just posted about the marvels of the iPhone and how it's changed my way of life, I was blown away at a presentation I attended recently given by a successful small business owner who talked about how the iPhone screen is at the core of her business product development.

As the manufacture of modern quilts doing business in the US, Canada and Europe, she discussed how ALL of her designs start small-- very small-- as in on the 2" X 3" screen of her smart phone.  Long story short-- If her quilt looks good on a very small screen... like a cellphone, Instagram or Pinterest-- then they will sell well.  If her quilts lose their impact, color, pattern/design, etc. on the small image size, it's scrapped from her collection.

Kinda makes sense if you think about it.  A gorgeous floral print, for example, may look stunning in a giant quilt, but on the very small screen-- thanks to modern technology-- the pattern is reduced so much it can get lost and, in some cases, can even disappear or muddy the colors meaning the customer might not be getting the quilt fabric/pattern they expected.

Genius, is all I can say because in a million years, I'd have never thought our buying habits (as well as design and marketing products) had changed so much so fast and to such a small-- and very cost effective format.

Then...  I got a look at another successful manufacture who has a very different idea of how people shop... It reminds me of the old Sears catalog approach which, in my opinion, is outdated, ridiculously costly (ultimately to the consumer?) and overkill to say the least.


Not long ago I received FIFTEEN POUNDS of Restoration Hardware catalogs delivered to my door step.  I practically needed a crane to pick them up off my porch.  The package included 14 different catalogs covering their entire product line.  And by the way, they were not promoting a sale.  The impression I got was that I was supposed to keep these catalogs as a reference for future purchases.  (Not.)

Granted, I'm talking about two very different companies and product lines, but the glaring differences between marketing via social media like Instagram and Pinterest versus old school catalogs with expensive photography printed on beautiful paper, then bundled and hand delivered to my front door left me wondering if Restoration Hardware was totally disconnected from today's shoppers-- not to mention the environmental impact of this stack of paper that almost immediately landed in my recycle bin without opening a single page.  Do plush towels, furniture and rugs really sell better using expensive, bulky catalog mailings?


In all honesty, receipt of the Restoration Hardware monster catalogs left me feeling guilty and a little bit miffed that I bought bath towels in their store about three years ago which is why, I'm assuming, I received this expensive collection of catalogs-- Guilty because I'm pretty "green" in our household and call catalog companies asking them to remove me from their mailing list to lighten my carbon footprint.  Dang!  Obviously I missed Restoration Hardware. 

Did my small towel purchase three years ago generate-- and warrant-- my receiving fifteen pounds of catalogs?  No, not in a million years.  My guess is the catalogs ate up their profits in my small purchase.  I'd have rather they shipped me a free towel instead.  That would be positive attention getting marketing.  And I'm guessing the towel would have been far less expensive then the cost to produce and deliver their catalogs.  The towel wouldn't have landed in the recycle bin either-- Just sayin'.

My shopping habits have changed drastically over the past few years and catalogs are long gone.  I turn to the Internet for everything from groceries and books to bathing suits purchases and prefer not to shop in brick and mortar stores if at all possible (Thus the bathing suit shopping online and it's lack of giant three-way mirrors!).  But, thanks to Restoration Hardware, I'm wondering if I might be missing something.  Or not.

What do you think? 

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins

22 comments:

  1. restoration warehouse is a cool store...but catalogs are way outdated...i buy most things online now if they are not local...pretty cool on designing those quilts on the iphone though...i am still stuck with the cheapo walmart phone though...ha

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  2. I like your idea of sending a free towel. I used to love catalogs, but now find myself window shopping online instead. If you got a bathing suit to fit from ordering online you are very lucky. I ordered one last year and the material was like a inner tube, the fit was terrible and even though I have unsubscribed twice I still get their promotional emails and catalogs, not just from them but all of their sister companies!

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  3. I am shopping more and more online. We love Restoration hardware, but I agree about the catalog. A towel is a great idea!

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  4. I don't know, Joanna. . . .
    Your towel purchase and the resulting avalanche of catalogs was absolutely the final blow to those ice bergs that are shedding polar bears like autumn leaves!

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  5. I don't know. I just stopped in to say hi!

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  6. I've thought the same thing, but then I heard this article on the radio:
    http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/why-restoration-hardware-sends-15-pound-catalogs

    Which kind of made sense in a weird way. But I still don't order from them or other catalogs--I get off mailing lists right away and the ones I like I stick to online shopping.

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  7. smart phones and the internet are definitely changing the way we do things. A big change.

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  8. I think the internet, whether on a computer or phone, is the way people shop these days. I'm sure Restoration Hardware has all kinds of research behind the way they do things but it seems like a huge waste to me.

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  9. I never heard of Restoration Hardware. I try to avoid any kind of catalog, but I still get a few. Not any 15 pound ones, though. Just the threat of it would keep me from ordering from them.

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  10. They have gotten mostly bad press from this catalog mailing. We didn't get one so maybe shopping there over 10 years ago made the difference. I do have a different take on this. They are helping to keep our postal system afloat.

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  11. The only reason for catalogs that I can see is to keep the post office in business. And if our mailbox is any indication, they're keeping pretty busy.

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  12. Restoration Hardware has gotten a lot of push back from the catalog. I like your idea of a company sending product rather than a catalog. Imagine if, instead of sending a 15 pound catalog, they sent to every former customer something related to their last purchase. I agree that would be way more effective and way cheaper!!

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  13. I always "enjoy" the catalogs I've requested not to be sent to me, sending me one a year or so later, with bold letters stating this will be my last catalog if I don't order anything. Good grief, I don't plan to and asked not to receive your catalog, so wake up XYZ company. I still get catalogs that I'd prefer not to get, but seems I can't get them to understand, don't send them to me, if I want anything I will order it online. I think catalogs are a waste of time and money. I even do most of my magazines online as well. I don't get many, but if I read one on my kindle, it's much better than to have to recycle the magazine and saves in so many ways. How are you my friend? My knee is 2 weeks old now and doing better with each day. Hugs!!

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  14. Oh that's funny - I was just looking at Restoraton Hardware's on-line catalogue for a replacement door handle. I much prefer on-line to paper catalogues - easier to search for what you want.

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  15. Pretty much all purchases are online for me. Especially since I eat gluten free, which is not available in my small town. Like you, I would rather order a bathing suit online and not be trying to hurry trying on a bathing suit in a store. Magazines have gone the way of the dinosaur, but books I still love.

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  16. I used to like it when the new catalogues came out and would spend hours browsing, often not buying anything though. It was like window shopping without going out. These days it's all online and mostly eBay, which is recycling at its best in my opinion :)

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  17. I used to like it when the new catalogues came out and would spend hours browsing, often not buying anything though. It was like window shopping without going out. These days it's all online and mostly eBay, which is recycling at its best in my opinion :)

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  18. I love catalogues in the mail but I heard about the Restoration Hardware debacle on the national news -- that is totally ridiculous. The thing I like about a catalogue is getting it, thumbing through, either turning the page down or pulling it out to keep till I decide -- do I want it? And tossing/recycling the rest. Who could do that with all those? They're nuts!

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  19. I hate catalogs,but then I am not a browser when it comes to shopping, and most of it is done online anyway. I read somewhere that album cover art had to change as well, when the change went from vinyl records to much smaller CDs. That made me sad because no more is there the detail like you saw on Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboys. Oh well.

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  20. Oh I dislike shopping too! And yet...and yet...I do love looking at catalogues. It's weird eh. But the lady designing the quilts on the iphone...how clever and yes definitely makes sense. We do need to look at what we're doing from a different angle...thanks darling for getting me thinking.

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  21. I also recently received my 15 pounds of catalogs. I found myself very bothered. What a waste! It all ended up in the recycle bin, too. You've reminded me to go online and cancel my catalogs.

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  22. I am almost exclusively an online shopper today. I, too, have opted out of catalogues but, somehow, they frequently crop up in my mail. Equally annoying are all those Medicare supplement advertisers and other insurers brokers! I've printed "return to sender" labels and don't open them, hoping they'll get the idea ( which they don't ).

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