Paperless Shopping with Google Catalogs

Some of you may already be aware that the brilliant folks at Google launched a catalog application called, you guessed it, Google Catalog.  There are catalogs from BCBG, L.L. Bean, Pottery Barn and others.  The app allows you to view approximately 100 catalogs for major retailers on your iPhone, Android phone, iPod Touch or iPad.  Needless to say, this saves a lot of storage space and some trees.   My coffee table is loaded down under the weight of all the direct mail, and particularly catalogs that I am getting this time of year.  I can’t recycle the catalogs quick enough after I leaf through them, and that is simply because I don’t have enough room for all of them.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of Google catalogs is that it allows the users to pick their favorites, share them and build collages of their favorites.  It takes virtual shopping to another level of social sharing. I just added the app to my iPod Touch.  I like the concept and I’ve downloaded it to check it out.  I know I will love this app for some catalogs, but I can’t imagine letting going of my big, print Neiman Marcus catalog. Even if I have no intention of buying from the “big book”, I love paging through it.   What about your readers, do you want your shopping catalogs to be electronic, or hard copy?