Packages were shipped via rail or by private carriers like American Express and Wells, Fargo. To receive a package, one had to go to the nearest railroad freight station. In 1913, the U.S. Postal Service introduced Parcel Post. In the first year of Parcel Post, Sears received five times the number of orders it had the year before, and the increase at Ward's was almost as dramatic. That is about how direct marketing started.
Responses can take a number of different forms.
A catalog or a direct mail package asks recipients to purchase items by placing a mail or telephone order. But whether the response comes by mail or telephone, it can be measured. This means that the success of every direct marketing offer is evident as soon as all the responses are in. A lot of responses equals a successful offer, while less than was predicted means the offer failed. The classic formula for direct marketing success is to build a list of satisfied customers, and then go back to them for repeat sales.