The number of online catalogs increased to 7,440 from 6,147 in the last year, while the number of print-only catalogs declined to 3,805, from 5,169, according to a report released Monday by the
National Directory of Catalogs. "More people are becoming comfortable and savvy in online use, and therefore more are using the Web as a resource, along with print," said Deborah Striplin, the Online
Catalogue Directory's editorial director. The categories that saw the biggest gains were office administration and equipment, which doubled the number of catalogs in circulation; general college
catalogs, which increased by 69 percent; and children's catalogs, which increased by 69 percent. Automotive catalogs also saw an uptick, which Striplin attributed to a shift in interests among
wealthier consumers. Several categories of catalogs also saw declines, including veterinary, which went down 39 percent; education catalogs, which went down 20 percent; and art and sculpture, which
went down 13 percent.
--Shankar Gupta
