How print supports inclusivity – the Argos effect
Mike Roberts
CEO JPS Print Management & MD PMG Print Management Print Management | Catalogue Production | Marketing Print | Direct Mail | Maximising Your Print ROI | Immediate Past President - IPIA
Last week the print world was rocked by Argos’s surprise decision to stop printing its Book of Dreams. The decision perhaps wouldn’t have come as such a surprise if the brand hadn’t made the catalogue a focus during the run up to Christmas 2019 in a moved that was hailed as proof that the humble catalogue still had a role to play.
Of course, retailers are looking to cut costs in a major way at the moment as the impact of the current pandemic continues to be felt. But while the news wasn’t entirely surprising, it also wasn’t received with universal understanding.
Argos’s assumption is that online shopping offers “greater convenience” than flicking through its print catalogue, and for many that may be true, but what about the five million Brits who have never used the internet? A 2019 Office for National Statistics survey revealed that 5.3m people hadn’t been online in the three months prior – most of whom were over 65. Are they not at the heart of the loyal Argos customer base?
Another piece of research in 2019, this time by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) found that 18% of Brits described themselves as “non-users” of the internet.
The researchers said that people falling into the category tended to be older and poorer than frequent net users.
On a national radio phone-in last week listeners described their elderly relatives’ reliance on the Argos catalogue and how much they enjoyed flicking through it. (One of the huge benefits of print is tactility, as I repeatedly say.)
Maybe Argos isn’t concerned about the lack of inclusivity it has created by scrapping the catalogue altogether. Maybe health concerns (imagine it being your job to sanitise every page of the laminated in-store catalogues multiple times a day) or more likely financial ones factor more highly for them right now.
But in an era when the gaps in society are widening; when Covid-19 has exposed the incredible inequalities in our society – from children without internet access or use of a PC to do remote schoolwork, to the debacle over food vouchers for the most needy only being available online – we need print to help balance out some of those barriers.
While I understand the reason Argos has made the decision, it’s a sad time not just for print, but for an inclusive society.
CEO JPS Print Management & MD PMG Print Management Print Management | Catalogue Production | Marketing Print | Direct Mail | Maximising Your Print ROI | Immediate Past President - IPIA
4 年I still believe print will play a pivotal part in the eventual economic recovery for the brands that use it to get their message to their audience in a more personal way... Thanks for commenting mate ??
CEO of Eight Group - a certified B Corp
4 年Agree with everything you've said Mike. The decision will have been made by the bean counters rather than the marketers, which in the current climate I totally understand as its all about cutting costs. The long term impact will be felt but it may only be a ripple, despite all of our nostalgia about the catalogue at xmas, blah blah blah etc...I do not think the nails are in the coffin yet though, we've seen print bounce back before when a new digital strategy has taken over and the numbers tumble. Time will tell.
Regional Sales Manager - Agency South
4 年I think it's a great shame - it's an iconic piece of print that was so useful! my parents loved it, always brought it home and both spend ages looking through it... it inspired purchase...they definitely won't go online and scroll through the pages in the same way. For those who still want the catalogue perhaps they could still request one to be sent to them otherwise it's a missed opportunity.
GRW Electrical & data comms ltd
4 年Where do farmers get their there toys from ? Who Argos who Argos Print is now in different forms we have gone digital but we still require paper in part . Different divers differ from client to client but top end print will be seen as marketing .not quantity but quality.?????????????