Having worked the LL Bean call center, I have some expertise on that end of the catalog line also. Many people “shop” on line, but actually call to place their orders. Although the internet side is growing fast, the personal interaction and immediate human response is still very appealing.

There are some questions that cannot be researched online without human intervention. Many customers said the catalog colors were closer to reality than the online pics showed.

That also leads to the social interaction of the phone/cataloge sales vs the online experiance. Many folks like to sit and mark the catalog, often sharing it with family and friends, the “how would this look on you or me”?
Granny can get feedback before ordering the new pjs and then call it in.

It occurs to me that the use of a computer is a very solitary expeiance for most people. We seldom gather around the monitor to look at the latest fashions. I suspect impulse buying is stronger with a catalog that shows up under our noses vs the very dilebert act of going to the web site…short of that pop up box which may be agrivating us into using the pop up blocker.

Then there are those “big brother is watching” folks who still send their orders in via the mail using a money order for payment. They don’t want the IRS knowing how much they spend or where its spent.

Scott