Not Getting J.Crew's Catalog? {there's a reason}

There is an interesting article from the Associated Press (click here to read it in its entirety) about the reduction in mail.

As recession wears on, the mail's a little lighter
By Ashley M. Heher
August 25, 2009

You can find a bright spot in the recession as close as your mailbox: There are far fewer hefty catalogs, bulging coupon packets, unwanted credit card offers and glossy fliers clogging it up.

Thanks to the economic downturn and rising shipping costs, junk mail volume was down 16 percent from last fall to this summer, on pace for the steepest annual decline in decades.

Businesses that are still sending junk mail are sending less of it — shrinking their catalogs and using thinner paper to save money. It's a sign stores are still struggling, but it also means less paper to toss in the garbage or lug to the recycling bin.

...J.Crew Group Inc. cut its catalog circulation by 27 percent earlier this year.

...The reprieve from overstuffed mailboxes will probably end as the economy revives. Catalogs, pamphlets and flyers remain among the cheapest and most effective ways to market and sell products and draw new shoppers into stores.

Catalogs, on average, generate $7 in sales for every dollar it takes to publish and mail them, industry data show. They also give customers a taste of a store's carefully cultivated image, like the modern-yet-unpretentious aesthetic of Crate & Barrel or the all-American preppy flair of J.Crew.

Web sites and e-mail promotions are growing in popularity and are far cheaper for businesses — they get a $45 return on every dollar — but they fall short of catalogs in drumming up new business.

"When you go farther into the Web site, you get a great assortment of products, but it's hard to keep up with that lifestyle feel," Neil O'Keefe, a vice president of multichannel segments at the Direct Marketing Association. "But with a catalog, with every page you turn, you're able to convey that lifestyle and that brand." ...

I didn't realize that J.Crew had reduced its circulation by that much! I love my J.Crew catalogs so much that if I don't get sent one, I will make it a point to pick one up at the brick & mortar (B&M) store.

What are your thoughts on the article? Do you still receive catalogs from J.Crew? Have you been "cut" from the circulation list? ;)