Online Catalogs
Nowadays, companies are turning their print catalogs to sell their products into online catalogs. This new trend is intended for consumers to shop on line and enjoy several discounts and some other advantages. A catalog supply website includes prices, discounts, tools, shipping options, different methods of payment, and more.
Online catalogs have several advantages for both the seller and the buyer. They allow the integration of the online catalog with the seller's order database and this translates into an additional sales channel. Online catalogs make it easier to find new clients on line without spending on more printing materials. These catalogs allow for more flexibility as they can be changed, corrected, and updated more easily.
However, even though sales can increase, an investment is also necessary to make online catalogs work successfully. This system requires adding a search engine friendly shopping cart system to the website and some kind of customer service might be necessary in the form of e-mail or live chat for instance. Some companies also invest on a toll-free number so their clients use this channel to place their orders.
The online buyer also benefits from online catalogs. This system usually offers good prices because the seller does not invest on large buildings or apparels and these savings are reflected in better prices for the consumer. Because the seller does not need to manage a physical inventory, they can offer an ample selection of products that cannot be offered by retail stores.
Another benefit is the convenience to buy from home. Buyers do not need to spend time or fuel to drive to one store and another looking for the products they need. This is an advantage for elderly people, impaired people, and also for people who already spend time and fuel driving from their works to their homes. Online catalogs also allow the buyer to compare prices and choose the articles that are more convenient for them any time and to place orders during the day or night.
Online catalogs can be enjoyed immediately as opposed to physical catalogs that one has to wait until they are mailed. Another advantage of these catalogs is that they are paperless, therefore, people using them do not litter.
One convenient aspect is that once one chooses what to shop and where to shop it, one can go immediately to the specific website and buy the article without wasting time trying to look for a specific item throughout the web.
For those people who still prefer a printed catalog, many sites offer the possibility to send a hard copy catalog as well.
There are also some disadvantages when this system especially with the shipping costs. Buyers have to be careful because at times shipping costs may end up increasing the costs of the products and reverting the original better price it seemed to offer.
Read more about this topic: Catalog Merchant