International Spy Museum Catalog Goes Digital for the Upcoming Holiday Season

November 19, 2012

Washington D.C., November 19, 2012 – The International Spy Museum (SPY) announced today that its newly expanded virtual catalog is now available via Catalog Spree’s new eSpree app, just in time for the holiday shopping season. Using the eSpree app, consumers can view the SPY Store catalog through a fast, interactive, immersive, modern, and sleek interface directly from the newly redesigned SPY web store site, www.spymuseumstore.org. Tablet shoppers can also access the SPY Store catalog on their iPad.

Catalog Spree is an online site where consumers can browse gorgeous catalogs, discover new brands, and share products they like with friends via email, Facebook, and Pinterest. SPY selected Catalog Spree, the award-winning and top-rated shopping app, available for the iPad and online at shop.catalogspree.com, as the premier partner for its virtual catalogs more than a year ago.

The SPY Store sells unique spy-related merchandise—toys, gadgets, gifts, party favors, Spy vs. Spy™ products, apparel, accessories, books, and DVDs, many of which are developed exclusively for the Museum. Using Catalog Spree, the SPY Store’s virtual catalog offers a fun, visual window-shopping experience more akin to what one might experience at the Museum’s 5,000-square-foot brick-and-mortar flagship store in Washington D.C.

The SPY Store, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, traditionally produced and mailed two mini catalogs each year. Print catalogs were well received by customers, but limited in terms of both the number of pages and number of products featured. Last November, in addition to mailing mini catalogs, the SPY Store launched its first virtual catalog on the new Catalog Spree iPad app, and the response has been very positive. SPY saw double-digit increases for many key metrics, including unique visitors and page views and time viewing the catalog, over the five-month period February – June 2012.

“Expanding the catalog digitally gives us the ability to feature more products, a wider variety of products, and detailed seasonal versions of the catalogs, and we can expand our customer base much more easily and cost effectively with virtual catalogs. Going digital as well as larger we are able to realize significant savings on production, printing, and mailing costs,” said Jodi Zeppelin, Director of Retail & E-commerce at the International Spy Museum. “Utilizing evolving technology also helps us appeal to and engage with the Museum’s tech-savvy, highly educated customer base.”

In addition to the International Spy Museum Store catalog, consumers can browse over 300 catalogs on Catalog Spree from brands including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Eddie Bauer, American Girl, One Kings Lane, and more. Catalog Spree’s recent Holiday Shopping Inspiration Survey revealed that 87% of consumers plan to use virtual catalogs to shop for gifts this holiday season.

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ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUM STORE:

The International Spy Museum Store is located at the corner of 8th and F Streets, NW in Washington D.C.’s historic Penn Quarter and can be accessed directly and free-of-charge from 8th Street. The store carries a diverse selection of merchandise that mirrors the International Spy Museum’s presentation of espionage tradecraft and history, including popular interpretations of that profession. It’s a one-stop-shop for all things spy-related: spy toys and games, tradecraft and gadgets, apparel, souvenir and logo merchandise, books, DVDs, and more.

For more information, call 202.EYE.SPYU (202.393.7798) or visit spymuseum.org. Shopping the Spy Store is now easier than ever. We’re available anywhere, anytime — online at spymuseumstore.org, mobile on-the-go at m.spymuseumstore.org, on Catalog Spree, and in person at our downtown D.C. flagship store.

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ABOUT CATALOG SPREE:

Catalog Spree is your personal digital mall. Its award-winning iPad app brings the fun of window-shopping online, connecting you with the brands you love. Catalog Spree is a privately held company based in Los Altos, California, and backed by Comcast Ventures and Relay Ventures. For more information visit http://catalogspree.com/.