Definition of mail-order advertising

advertising that creates orders for purchase through the mail. Mail-order advertising can utilize almost any form of media, although catalogs, such as the Spiegel catalog, are the most popular form. The catalogs are distributed through the mail, and then orders are likewise placed through the mail (although, as a convenience to customers, some mail-order houses or catalog houses offer a telephone ordering service, through the use of an 800 or toll-free telephone number). The important characteristic of mail-order advertising is that there is no interaction between the consumer and the advertiser and that, except when using the telephone option, the only means of communication between consumer and advertiser is through the mail.