One of the few bright spots in the generally subdued outlook for Christmas this year is catalogue sales. Business for the some 5,000 merchants now operating through the mails has been growing at an annual rate of 15%, or more than twice the pace of retailing in stores. Maxwell Sroge, a Colorado Springs-based consultant who monitors catalogue sales, expects them to reach $33 billion this year, compared with $29 billion in 1980. Consumers now can mail or telephone orders for a deluxe domestic robot ($17,500) complete with electronic pet ($650) from Neiman-Marcus, a...
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