Many alarmists decry the rapid rise of the digital world. They say that “virtual reality” is in serious danger of replacing “actual reality.” Well, we’ll leave such big-picture speculations to the futurists, but at least in one respect the digital world is in no danger of replacing the real world.

Online media in particular are no imminent threat to traditional media. In fact, for certain applications, the former may enhance the latter. According to the 2007 Multi-Channel Direct Mail Study by comScore, direct mail recipients are almost two times as likely to make a purchase from a retail Web site as those who only receive an Internet communication. In other words, people may be increasingly comfortable with making purchases online, but when it comes to finding out what’s available for purchase, and where those items are for sale, there’s nothing like a real live direct mail piece.

The results are even better for catalogs. More than two-thirds of catalog recipients visited the catalog’s companion Web site, and that traffic resulted in a 163-percent increase in sales over those who did not receive a catalog. What’s more, catalog recipients on average buy more items (4.1 versus 3.2) and spend more money ($88 versus $69) than do non-recipients.

According to the study, catalogs are especially useful for jump-starting holiday shopping: Catalog recipients were significantly more likely than non-recipients to shop for holiday gifts online. Apparently, they appreciate the convenience and flexibility of online shopping, but they also like to have something concrete in their hands to browse through. Nearly 60 percent of online shoppers said that they enjoy receiving catalogs: More than a mere convenience, catalogs represent a chance to browse at the recipient’s convenience, to immerse oneself in brand interaction and to make shopping decisions without the rush of crowds and the annoyance of traffic.

In this age of media proliferation, marketers are quickly discovering that old and new media work best in conjunction with each other. Far from replacing traditional marketing avenues, digital channels represent an opportunity to make previously existing media even more effective than they already were. And the same goes in the reverse direction: direct mail pieces, catalogs in particular, improve the effectiveness of online sales initiatives. The combination of the two creates a potent combination for robust e-commerce sales.