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Looks at the development of mail order trading in the UK and the USA, showing that there are substantial differences. Uses tables to give emphasis to the growth of UK mail order and follows this up with a similar study of the USA. Confirms that it is difficult to forecast the future of total sales through the medium of mail order, that it is unlikely that it will not pick up relative share, but that its growth rate will probably slow down. Sums up that there is certainly room for expansion in this market.

Relatively scant attention thus far has been accorded in the marketing literature to the examination and explanation of return behaviour of consumers, especially within the mail order industry. The issues examined here consist of the nature and influence of such factors as “buying experience”, “perceived risk”, and “return frequency”. The aim of this paper is to analyse four groups of returners (“heavy returners”, “medium returners”, “light returners”, and “occasional returners”).

This paper details an empirical study of return behaviour based on a field survey that was conducted specifically focusing on the apparel category. Exploratory factor analyses and analyses of variance (ANOVA) have been employed to test the proposed hypotheses.

Results show that there exist different reasons for returns among the four groups of returners. In particular, they differ in their initial shopping motivation for mail order purchases, their group‐specific reasons for product returns, and also in their spending patterns.

These are discussed within the body of the paper.

A number of meaningful implications for mail‐order firms are developed from the empirical findings. While product returners have been thought to be an amorphous category (akin to a “black box”) in the past, this paper highlights the disparate motives for making returns. Specific prescriptions are provided regarding the management of product description, consumer return policy, and the handling of consumer perceived risk.

This paper contributes toward the evolving literature of consumer return behaviour in the context of distance purchasing and also by taking into consideration the heterogeneity of return groups. It looks at the characteristics of the return groups and how they differ in their prior motives of making their purchase decisions.

Mail order, the success story of the 1960s, is still putting up an impressive performance: in 1974 it grew at an estimated 16% as compared with 12% for retail trade in general. Computing techniques have been applied in mail order to order processing, credit control, accounting, stock control, and merchandising. By the early 1970s most companies had established good systems which in general were able to cope with the substantial growth of the 1970s. Most effort in these areas is now directed to refining and reviewing established systems, but in addition the leading companies have moved into more sophisticated areas, such as developing systems for selective advertising and promotion, in‐depth sales and catalogue analysis.

The objectives of the study are to examine consumer attitudes to mail‐order speciality food products on the basis of a survey of mail order shoppers. The particular question which is addressed in the paper is concerned with the benefits perceived by mail‐order speciality food customers. Specifically, it identifies the perceived benefits associated with mail‐order, then establishes the underlying dimensions of these benefits and, finally, investigates the existence of customer segments on the basis of benefits sought. Consumers’ perceptions of the benefits of mail‐order emphasise quality, uniqueness and convenience. However, underlying these attributes are four main dimensions of customer relations and service, convenience, nostalgia and uniqueness. Furthermore, it is possible to identify two consumer segments of active mail‐order shoppers in terms of a product‐oriented group and a mail‐order‐oriented group.

Analyses customer satisfaction with mail‐order speciality foods in the UK and examines the relationship between satisfaction with eight attributes of mail‐order speciality food and their association with overall satisfaction and likelihood of future purchase. Univariate analysis reveals that a high proportion of mail‐order customers experience satisfaction with each of the eight mail‐order attributes, reflected in a high proportion of customers who are satisfied overall and who intend to repurchase the products in the future. Canonical correlation analysis reveals a statistically significant relationship between one set of variables, overall satisfaction and likelihood of future purchase, and another set of variables, the eight mail‐order attributes. Consequently the results indicate that customer satisfaction is associated with service aspects of mail‐order such as the order process and delivery service as well as physical product attributes such as product quality.

In the mid‐1970s Mothercare decided to establish a new distribution centre and mail order warehouse; a number of alternative order picking systems were considered for the company's world‐wide mail order operation. This article examines the various alternatives and describes the system which was finally selected — a carousel storage and selection arrangement. Current performance statistics of the system are provided which are related to Mothercare's sales volumes.

Given the dominance of energy costs in retailing and distribution, it would seem logical to turn our attention away from traditional methods of displaying goods in the shops and look again at mail order. A recent Post Office study indicates that mail order distribution is a much more efficient use of our energy resources, and this could augur well for the growth of mail order.

While the share of all retail sales taken by the mail order sector has increased from 4.7% in 1976 to 6.4% in 1982, such companies face special problems when it comes to inventory control. In their paper Alan Waddington and Leslie Chadwick examine the difficulties and demonstrate how successful inventory control can boost sales turnover and profit growth.

The Library Electronic Ordering (LEO) service, created by Stirling University Library, makes it possible to submit orders for library materials via the University's intranet. Orders can be for any type of material and are received by the library as e‐mails then processed for ordering. The paper describes the web form creation, including the technical details of the form construction and method of processing.

Investigates customer attitudes towards the direct marketing strategies employed by banks in relation to how attitudes toward the marketing media used and response channels influence the customer’s intention to purchase. Marketing media include mail promotion, telephone, and e‐mail promotions. Response channels include mail order, telephone and e‐mail orders. A total of 153 customers of bank services and products completed a survey questionnaire on their attitudes. Research indicates that customers generally evince a negative attitude toward banks using direct marketing strategies. They have mixed feelings about response channels, and low intention to purchase as an outcome of direct marketing. Purchase intention is significantly influenced by attitudes toward direct marketing media rather than response channels. Attaching promotions to communications a customer is expecting to receive can strengthen purchase intention. No demographic differences indicate that attitudes may have a stronger association with purchase intention. Revealed dilemmas faced by bank managers, marketers and researchers.