Apology accepted

I previously blogged about “sorry” emails that seem insincere, so bringing it back from the realms of desperate and needy, to actually appearing apologetic was an email from DIY retailer Wickes.


Last week I received a catalogue in the post from Wickes. To be honest, I haven’t yet looked at it. Apparently there was a misprint: Wickes had given the expiry date for its special offer as January 2010, rather than 2011. Whoops!

Today I received an email titled “Apologies from Wickes‏”. Bracing myself for yet another “our website was down over the weekend, here’s 5% off everything”, I was pleasantly surprised. In a a refreshing change for a “sorry” email, the tone of this message is genuinely apologetic and Wickes comes across as rather embarrassed at the admission of its error.

The added bonus, of course, is that by sending me this email Wickes has reminded me of its offer without being pushy about it. Nice save, Wickes.--MT

The June Catalogue Log

Last month we introduced the Catalogue Log, in which we analysed the catalogues received by Catalogue e-business to date to see what sort of offers were made. We also promised to update it monthly. Well, here’s the Catalogue Log for June.

Of the 129 catalogues tallied in June, 44—34.1 percent—promised some sort of sale or discount. That’s down appreciably from 42.6 percent of the May catalogues. The percentage of free-delivery offers declined as well, from 11 percent in May to 8.5 percent in June. On the other hand, the percentage offering a free gift increased significantly, from 11 percent in May to 17.8 percent.

Overall 46.5 percent of the catalogues did not tout any promotions, discounts, or offers on their cover. Some, such as food and wine merchant Atkins and Potts and educational supplier Morleys Early Years, played up the new additions to their product range instead. Others, such as Party Pieces, Fire Protection Online, and DIY retailer Wickes, pointed out their order deadlines for next-day delivery (1pm, 2pm, and 6pm respectively). Several made sure to drive readers to their website (“There’s more online at wigglywigglers.co.uk”; “Watch the amazing spa film at lush.co.uk”; “Avoid the queues and check stock online” from knitwear mailer Woolovers). Most of the promotion-free cataloguers, however, didn’t include any special marketing message on their front covers, thereby failing to give readers another reason to turn the page.

A few items of note: Housewares mailer Betterware ran a competition for a year’s worth of free housecleaning. On the cover of its Tents 2009 edition, Taunton Leisure boasted of its “price check promise”. And both Easylife and Telegraph Select featured the same photo of a “versatile ladder” on their front covers—only Easylife charged £10 more.--SC