Before the golden age of catalogs, consumers could only purchase goods locally. While this stimulated the local economy, it severely limited choice, and created a type of monopoly that allowed the local store owners to charge whatever they wanted. With catalogs, customers were no longer limited by distance or price. They were able to comparison shop and have items from far away brought to their homes.
Fast forward to today, we now have Black Friday and Cyber Mondays. Today, most people shop online or in-person making catalogs a thing of the past.
Catalogs were once a way to provide more choices, and eliminate the travel barrier for people to get goods. Now they have, in fact, limited choices. There is such a large array of products and a huge selection for each, it’s impossible to list every item in a catalog. Each employee is unique and their idea of the ideal reward may be different than what is listed in a catalog.
Where catalogs were once a way to determine fair pricing, now they are priced to include the miscellaneous costs a company might incur from storing these items. The overhead is added to the price which means these items have a high markup.
Where a TV direct from a store may cost $500, by redeeming through a catalog program that same TV may instead end up costing an employee $800. This high markup is due to the huge up charges stemming from storage of inventory.
This also shows that employees will need to work harder for their rewards. If they’re spending $800 on a reward that costs $500 they’re working almost twice as hard.
Since one of the principles behind employee rewards and recognition is timely, On The Spot Recognition rewards, having to choose an item from a catalog, then wait weeks and weeks to receive it, defeats the principle of timely recognition.
Just as in 1872, when the first catalog was sent out it was a revolution, and times have changed again. Now, catalog-selected reward programs are a thing of the past, and there are online platforms for employees to choose their rewards!
Energy 2 Engage's Employee Engagement and Recognition Programs and Sales Growth Programs are designed in a way where we help you execute on your goals, not warehouse catalog items. Our Direct-To-Retail model is the basis of your company branded Rewards platform, where they use their VISA Digital Debit Card to go shopping directly with whatever retailer they want. Whether it's Amazon, Home Depot, or any other online merchant, the participant can redeem instantly!