As digital channels become oversaturated, print catalogs are making a comeback for many ecommerce brands. But why? Let’s dive in and see how print catalogs can be used to supercharge your seasonal marketing.
Print Catalogs are Making a Comeback this Holiday Season
Print Catalogs are Making a Comeback this Holiday Season
Today, the marketing spotlight often lands on digital channels such as social media ads, email campaigns, websites and more. You could go into any browser, type in a brand, company name, or even a specific item and have pages and
pages of information. What the internet offers us today is what catalogs did for the average consumer before we had the world at our fingertips. However, what the internet can’t do is make a tangible connection with your audience – and that is where print shines.
As digital channels become oversaturated, print catalogs are making a comeback for many ecommerce brands. But why? Let’s dive in and see how print catalogs can be used to supercharge your seasonal marketing.
History of Holiday Catalogs
During the Industrial Revolution, mass media channels, such as billboards, catalogs, and posters, helped spread the word about new products, creating a booming consumer marketplace. In 1933, Sears printed and mailed their very first “Wish Book,” which became known as the Sear Christmas Catalog. This catalog redefined holiday marketing and became a tradition that turned into an American Icon.
Catalogs continued to grow and soon other brands joined in or tailored existing catalogs for the holiday season. This direct marketing tactic quickly became one of the most popular holiday shopping methods well into the 2000s.
The Appeal of Print Catalogs
Outsmart Digital Overload
The average consumer is overwhelmed by digital marketing messages daily. Though the end of the year holiday season sees one of the largest shopping surges of the entire year, the overabundance of emails and digital advertising has grown monotonous for shoppers. With digital inboxes becoming overcrowded, brands and consumers are returning to print catalogs with nostalgia, yearning for simpler times.
Timeless Nostalgia of Print
For many consumers today, print catalogs are a core memory of their childhoods. We gathered around catalogs to show parents our wish list; we used catalogs for selling candies and knick knacks for school fundraisers; we browsed home and garden catalogs for décor ideas and holiday decorating. Catalogs bring a sense of nostalgia and with that emotion comes engagement and sales.
A Tactile Marketing Experience
Catalogs are tangible and tactile, providing readers with an interactive, personalized experience. You can spend a night flipping through various sections without digital eye fatigue, mark your favorite items with bookmarks, and pass along to your friends when you’re done. Digital can’t offer the same shared, real-life experience that print marketing can.
Multi-Channel Marketing
Though we’re making the case for print, we know that digital marketing is still king in today’s consumer landscape. Brands can easily connect print to their digital catalogs by using unique links and/or QR codes. Shoppers can flip through your catalogs then scan and purchase online when they’re ready to buy. It’s the perfect blend for the modern buyer!
Targeted Storytelling
Lifestyle brands, such as Patagonia and J.Crew, have used their catalogs to not just highlight products, but to tell a story to their shoppers. Incorporating client testimonials, insider product tips, and the story behind product creations and more can give create more authentic engagement for brands and products, increasing sales and turning customers into loyal fans.
The modern catalog is personalized to your audience, offering a targeted blend of storytelling, products, visuals and synergy that sells.
The Return to Print Marketing
Companies like J.Crew, Amazon, Neiman Marcus and Patagonia are embracing the return of print catalogs, and adding a modern twist. Amazon has had a great deal of success with their holiday shopping catalogs geared towards children. Kids can excitedly get new gift ideas and point out to their parents exactly what they want for Christmas, just like children in the 1900’s used to do with the Sears catalog.
J. Crew, who once filed bankruptcy, has revived their once famous catalogs to successfully increase sales and engagement. Patagonia blends editorial content into their catalogs to tell a story of the adventures of their brand and share real examples of their products in action.
Printed catalogs is proving to be a classic form of marketing with an impact that is truly timeless.
Take Advantage of the USPS 2025/2026 Catalog Insights Promotion
Ready to start investing in your audience through catalogs? There is no better time to start than now with the USPS Catalog Insights Promotion. This limited time offer helps businesses enhance their catalog marketing while lowering mailing costs. Eligible participants can receive a 10% discount on qualifying USPS Marketing Mail® catalogs mailed between October 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, with registration open August 15, 2025 – June 30, 2026.
To qualify, catalogs must:
- Be at least 12 pages, bound, and include product or service listings with visuals and ordering information.
- Meet the USPS definition and requirements for a catalog.
- Complete all required data points and submit a sample for pre-approval in the Mailing Promotions Portal.
This special promotion gives brands an opportunity to boost visibility, engagement, and save on mailing costs—all while continuing the catalog printing revival that connects with customers in a meaningful, lasting way.
Make Your Catalog Count with Preferred!
Preferred Direct has over 30 years of experience assisting brands in their holiday catalog needs. From full color or black and white printing to professional binding to priority postage, we have the technology and know-how to bring your print catalog to life.
When inboxes are overflowing, stand out with a beautifully designed catalog with Preferred Direct. Contact our team today to request an estimate and get started on your printed holiday catalog before the shopping season begins!
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About the authors
-understand verbiage and visuals so readers of all professional levels can follow along. Using easy-to-read typography, incorporating sections and titles, and having a clear strategy to your newsletter is imperative. 
report can help spread your message even further. Using Preferred Direct’s 
At Preferred Direct we offer a wide range of services that will set your annual reports apart from the rest. Our skilled designers and state-of-the-art equipment provide what you need to achieve a professional look and the consistent branding your company deserves. From pagination to distribution, we can design, print, and mail your next annual company newsletter, from start to finish. Contact us to get started today.
Folding and Collating: Once the booklet pages are printed, the sheets of paper are folded to create individual pages. This folded crease is often referred to as the spine. The folded sheets are then arranged in sequential order and prepared for binding.
We’d like to think that customers eagerly await our emails for the latest promotions and news. Realistically, their email inbox looks just like ours— cluttered, with hundreds of unopened e-newsletters dying a slow death in the automated “Promotions” folder. With email providers implementing changes effecting deliverability rates and SPAM categorization, it’s likely that your audience isn’t receiving your emails in the first place, wasting the time and effort of your marketing team.
Are your competitors using a printed newsletter to reach their customers? If not, then this is a perfect time to reach your shared audiences in a way that your competitors do not. Your loyal customers will be pleased to see your direct communication and your competitor’s audience may be intrigued by this new touchpoint and the effort you put into the campaign. Though we may not think of the mailbox as “new”, we should. Print marketing is in a modern-day renaissance and this old medium could be the new way to communicate to your audience, effectively.
Online privacy protection laws are actively being passed on national and local levels, highlighting the growing scrutiny on how personal information is found and used. Companies, such as Apple, Google and Microsoft, have responded by introducing various privacy features, that ultimately limit many marketers’ ability to effectively target audience segments. With these changing privacy laws, it may become harder for businesses to collect accurate email information. This has also impacted the number of bogus emails created for the sole purpose of downloading digital content through lead forms, without giving true, personal information.
As a HIPAA-compliant and HITRUST-certified printer, Preferred Direct has invested in top print and fulfillment technology and follows the strictest data security standards to ensure the safety of your data. Partner with 
