Will you miss the Argos catalogue?

But give work to web designers, database managers, costumer engagement, etc.

Kelvin – Argos has always been very helpful to customers who need assistance with using their outlets and I am sure they will continue to look after customers who struggle with new technology, the more so now that the company is part of Sainsbury’s.

It’s probably not the trees that are the environmental concern behind the policy decision to scrap the catalogue but the production, transport and waste disposal costs. Full colour printing and glazed paper does not come cheap and since most customers are probably using the internet to make their selections nowadays it is a smart move. The printing industry is the big loser with the transfer of so much business to the internet and the Argos catalogue must have been a very valuable contract.

The content function will remain, of course, to produce the images and descriptions for on-line presentation, and a number of physical copies will still be required for the outlets.

Rachel – It might be better to browse the product category you are looking for across a number of makes or stores or on-line marketplaces in order to narrow down the products you could buy and then check their availability and price on the Argos site. You can keep a number of tabs open so you can easily make comparisons across a range of suppliers.

I think Rachel is correct to point out that browsing a paper catalogue and browsing online shops are different skills.

I find it much easier to flick through a paper publication – tools, seeds, plants, are ones I use – to find what I want, unless it is something very specific when the search term is clear. Feet up with a drink and a Thompson and Morgan catalogue is a pleasant diversion in the winter when thinking about the gardening year to come. But it is a waste of paper and transport.

I also find paper documents much easier to browse because you can take in so much with one glance and there is no need for the continual scrolling and panning, but keeping two or three pages open at the same time is not so easy with paper catalogues and realistically you can only work with one supplier at a time. Another advantage of browsing on-line is the ease with which pages can be magnified for a close-up look at items, and there is frequently more than one view available so you can see what they look like from all angles, and assembly instructions or detailed specifications are more likely to be available on-line.

On-line browsing is certainly a skill that takes time to acquire but there are pros and cons on both sides. Fortunately Argos are going to continue to have the manual version in their outlets alongside computer screens for on-line access.

Like Malcolm, I enjoy receiving gardening catalogues but these are minnows compared to the great whale that was the Argos tome. I have just taken delivery of some special shrubs from Hayloft and their brochures are full of gorgeous pictures of rare and unusual plant varieties. I place my gardening orders on-line however and there are sometimes web-only offers that are worth considering.

Interesting John. I tend to close one tab before opening the next, having exhausted the information in the first. I might return to it but my progress is linear I don’t keep tabs on everything. This is not something I do by design, just habit. I agree with Rachel that an index is useful, otherwise it means refining the input in the search column until the exact product materialises. Some sites seem to have their own ideas of what I have asked for and go off on a tangent, presumably to interest me in other products. This is frustrating. Searching on line becomes an art while searching an index is more straightforward.

Yes, I am a fan of a good index. In an early part of my working life I compiled indices but got told off for too much cross-referencing and sub-categorisation. I said I thought that would be helpful. I soon moved onwards and upwards so left that work to others. This could be why I get so annoyed with an inadequate index.

I often have multiple tabs open. Sometimes it’s useful to have a new page rather than a new tab so that you can look at two pages simultaneously. Some people use two screens.

Depending on the website, it might be possible to search for keywords, which is not possible with a printed catalogue.