Argos Catalogue

One of the most successful online catalogue retailers in the UK is Argos. They have been around for almost 30 years now, and have had an online presence for most of this time. The argos website is the second most visited site in the UK, attracting over 8 million visitors every month. With so many customers it is not hard to see why they have become so popular.

The argos catalogue comes out twice a year, once in the summer and once in the autumn. Each new edition is met with great anticipation, and people look forward to the many bargains that will be on offer. Almost 15 million catalogues are brought out and distributed to the households free of charge. This is quite an investment, but the rewards are substantial in the long run. Almost half the UK population has a copy of the catalogue in their home at any given time. There are over 18000 products in the line up, and this grows with each new edition. How much further it can go is anyone's guess, but as long as people keep buying things then there seems no reason to mess with a winning formula.

The Argos online presence is vital to their operation. Almost half of their annual sales are generated via the internet. Every item in the catalogue is also on the website. As a result the site is huge, and requires careful planning to get the layout just right. It has to be user friendly and easy to navigate, or customers will not be able to find what they want, and may go elsewhere instead. As an added incentive, there are many internet only deals that you cannot get on the high street shops. This is a good way of promoting the website and attracting more visitors.

On the home page you will find all the different departments and sections. Further down you will see the specail offers and clearance sections. The clearance section is where argos places all of its lowest priced items. This is usually full when the latest edition comes out, because all the older stock needs to be sold quickly. It all ends up as a clearance item, and when they are gone they are gone. If you miss out on these deals then you can always pick up something from the discounts department, and these offers run every week, all year round.

Every item has a picture and a text description, along with the price next to it, so all the information you need is right there at first glance. Also online you have the opportunity to view buying guides. This is new feature, and is meant to be a detailed guide of what each type of product has to offer. It also helps you decide what make and model will suit your needs. As an extra bonus you also get customer reviews for each item. Here you can find out what other people have to say about purchases they have nade. You can get a good idea of any potential problems, and little tips and tricks you may not have thought about.

The main reason for the success of argos is their high street stores. There are hundreds of them dotted around the country, in major cities and towns. The recent trend has been in providing out of town stores in retail parks. This has two main benefits, the first is that by moving out of the city centres, the cost of building is reduced, and rental and overhead costs are reduced as well. The second point is that you can build much bigger stores out of town.

This has led to the rise of the argos superstore, which is a huge store that contains a whole lot of products. You can sell more things if you can stock them all in the same place. The superstores have proved to be very popular indeed with customers, and another branch of argos has grown from these, called argos extra stores. The extra stands for extra products that are not available at other smaller shops. These are the ultimate in shopping with argos.

When you enter one of the big stores you will find a selection of catalogues laid out all round the floor space. From these points you select what you want and then pay for them at the tills. You then proceed to a waiting point where you wait for the purchase item to be brought from the stock room to the front desk waiting area. It all happens in a matter of minutes, and is very efficient. However, at peak times it can be very busy, and the waiting times increase considerably.

To get around this, many people choose to shop online instead and have there goods deliverd to them. You have the option of having home delivery, or having things delivered to you local store where you can then pick them up. This is known as check and reserve, and has totally transformed retail shopping in recent years. It is a good way of making sure your item is in stock before you set out. You also save on delivery charges this way.