Whereas "a fraction of a percent, to a couple percent" of those who receive Bluefly e-mail solicitations turn into paying customers, 3 percent or 4 percent of those who are sent Bluefly postcards make purchases, Morris said.
Of course, that does not justify repeated mass mailings. "If I send postcards that cost 30 cents each, versus e-mails that cost a penny, is the postcard going to be 30 times more effective?" Morris said. "The answer is, it depends." The factors include the quality of the offer and the extent to which the mailing includes people who are predisposed to shop with Bluefly.
The company is still trying to determine whether those who respond to paper mailings tend to spend more on each purchase, or spend more over a longer period, than those reached online. "This is going to take us some time to figure out," he said. "That's why direct mail isn't perfectly suited for dotcoms that don't necessarily have the luxury of time."
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