What are catalogues?
Catalogue shopping is an important sector in retail. It has been around since the middle of the 19th century in the UK and has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry.
Catalogues sell a wide selection of products, such as:
- Clothing
- Technology
- Child and baby products
- Appliances and furniture
- Beauty and wellness products
You can find almost anything in a catalogue, as they will host a range of products from different brands and put them all in one place for your convenience.
Catalogues are unique to online stores as they will offer you different credit options to pay for your product. With most catalogues, you will have the option to buy now, pay later and pay in monthly or weekly instalments. This helps people take control of their finances and build up their credit score.
Even if you have a bad credit score, you will likely be accepted for a credit account on a catalogue.
What are the payment options on catalogues?
Catalogues offer you more payment options than other online stores. Some of the popular options include:
Buy now, pay later: if you pick this option, you will not have to pay upfront costs and you will not have to pay anything for 12 months. You can delay the payments until you are ready to start paying off the purchase. However, you will have to pay compound interest. The longer you wait to pay, the higher the amount of interest you will have to pay.
Pay monthly: if you decide to pay monthly, the catalogue will divide the purchase cost across a few months. Typically it will be between 3-12 months, depending on how much you spend and what you would prefer. You will pay instalments each month. Usually, this is an interest-free method of payment, unless you are late with payments and do not pay the full amount within the agreed period of time.
Pay weekly: if you decide to pay in weekly instalments, the purchase will be divided across the number of weeks that you decide on. Many sites offer weekly payments between 6 to 52 weeks, depending on how much you spend.
What are the benefits of catalogues?
There are many benefits to using catalogues to pay for the things that you need. One of the main advantages of catalogues is that it helps to improve your credit score. Catalogues accept people with all credit scores. So if you have a poor credit score, you are still eligible for credit payments. If you are reliable with the payments, it will have a positive impact on your score.
If your credit score is low, you might only be accepted for a low credit limit, but this is often still between £80 to £150 depending on the site you are using. If you are a reliable customer, this limit will increase monthly. So, starting small is a great way to build up your credit score whilst buying the items that you want.
Another benefit is that it helps you take control of your finances in terms of budgeting and being able to afford the things you need and want. Splitting payments into affordable instalments is a great way to make payments more manageable. So you do not need to save up for months to buy the things that you need.
By paying in instalments, you do not need to set up your own budget to pay for your purchases and it does it for you. This saves you both time and energy. Often, you can set payments up as a direct debit, which means that the money will come out of your bank account on the same day every month. Therefore, this helps you budget without having the hassle of setting your own up.
Also, catalogues sell a wide selection of products all in one place. From technology to clothes to toys – catalogues have it all. This means that you can make any purchase more affordable. Additionally, by having everything in one place you are avoiding the need to go shopping in person.
Usually, if you needed to buy clothes and toys on the same day, you would have to go to at least two stores. But with catalogues, everything is in one place, and you can shop from the comfort of your own home. Catalogues will often have better deals on their products too, such as sale and clearance items always available.
List of UK catalogue companies
Studio
Studio is an online catalogue that sells thousands of different products such as clothing, technology, toys and much more. New products are added every day from top brands. Studio offers a buy now, pay later option and the option to pay in instalments.
Very
Very is a popular online catalogue in the UK, with a vast selection of products from top brands at a competitive price. The catalogue sells everything you could need, from technology to clothes to furniture. A typical starting credit limit for Very is from £500, and this can increase over time if you are reliable with your repayments.
Littlewoods
Littlewoods is a fantastic and very popular catalogue in the UK, and they even have a mobile app so you can shop on the go. They offer great repayment plans, including not having to pay interest if you fully pay for your purchase in under 12 months. Littlewoods sells a huge range of products from top brands such as appliances, smartphones, jewellery and beauty products.
Freemans
Freemans specialises in clothing for men, women and children. This catalogue offers fantastic prices and different payment options to make purchases affordable. The credit limit starts from £100, and you can increase this over time if you prove yourself to be a reliable and loyal customer. New customers get 25% off their first order.
Sunshine Mobile
Sunshine Mobile is a great site to purchase a mobile phone from as they do not run any credit checks. So if you have a really poor credit score, or you do not have one at all then this is the choice for you! They have different repayment options available such as paying weekly, monthly or buy now, pay later.
Argos
Argos is a popular catalogue in the UK with different products, but with a focus on appliances and technology. You can pay your purchases back over 3 or 6 months without having to pay interest. Argos consistently have amazing offers on their products.
Next
Next is a fashion and homeware specialist catalogue. Next offer a great credit limit range, starting from £200 to £1500. There are different repayment options available, and you can use your Next credit card online or in-store.
JD Williams
JD Williams is a great clothing specialist catalogue for men, women and children, making it an ideal choice for families. They run a soft credit check on you to determine your credit limit, which can be increased over time. If you are a first time user of this site, you can get 20% off your first order.
Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope is a fashion and homeware specialist, with a wide range of amazing deals and products available to buy. They offer a credit limit of between £100 to £1,000. A great deal they offer is 25% off your first order!
Fashion World
Fashion World sells a great range of plus-size clothing and accessories from a huge list of brands. You can spread payments across a period of time that suits you. They run a soft credit check on you to determine your credit limit, which is increased every 28 days.
Jacamo
Jacamo specialises in men’s clothing and accessories from a wide range of brands in a variety of sizes (from medium to 5 extra large). A typical starting credit limit is £100, which is increased every 28 days if you are reliable with payments.
Curvissa
Curvissa is a plus-size women’s clothing company that offers a huge selection of brands at a competitive price. On average, a starting credit limit is £100, which is increased every month if you prove you are a reliable customer.
Simply Be
Simply Be is a very popular plus-size women’s clothing company that sells an amazing range of stylish clothing and accessories. It has a competitive credit limit, which can be increased every month.
Ace
Ace is an online catalogue that sells a huge range of products from a wide range of brands, including their own clothing brand. This catalogue started as a paper catalogue and has been around for over 50 years! Ace offers flexible payment options to help make the products more affordable for you.
La Redoute
La Redoute is an online catalogue that aims to bring French items to the UK. This includes stylish clothing straight from Paris for men, women and children as well as a small range of furniture at excellent prices.