Printed retail catalogues make a comeback in the US

New York

IN this digital age when filling a shopping cart requires little more than clicking on a screen, the printed retail catalogue keeps vying for a place on the coffee table.

From Anthropologie to American Girl, Pottery Barn to Patagonia, retailers are still relying on direct mail even as they spend considerable resources on improving their websites to accommodate the steady increase in online shopping.

Some of their catalogue forays, however, barely resemble the traditional merchandise book. These days, retailers are employing devices like adventure tales and photo spreads of wildlife to catch a shopper's eye, hoping to secure purchases online or in a store.

Luring a specific customer base seems to be part of the strategy underlying JC Penney's surprise announcement this month that it would revive a home goods catalogue in March, three years after the struggling company discontinued all such mailings. Its new version will focus not on recruiting new customers but on reaching existing ones, according to a spokeswoman. Whether the company will resume a regular schedule for sending out seasonal or general merchand…