Cabela's 2014 Annual Report Download - page 16

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The amount of traffic now coming through mobile devices is growing significantly. As a result, we continue
to utilize best-in-class technology to improve our customers’ digital shopping experience and build on the advances
we have made to capitalize on the variety of ways customers are shopping at Cabela’s today. Our Cabelas.com
mobile website makes the Cabelas.com desktop version available on smart phones and tablets including a new
simplified checkout that was implemented across all device platforms in the fourth quarter of 2014. Customers
now have the same information and services as Cabelas.com and the same shopping experience as they have on the
desktop site. Cabelas.com and the mobile website also run off a single operating platform, allowing us to manage
the desktop and mobile sites using one system. We continue to enhance our social marketing initiatives and now
have over 3.4 million fans on Facebook. Our omni-channel marketing efforts are resulting in increased customer
engagement across multiple channels and a more consistent experience across all channels.
Catalog and Print Distributions. We use our customer database to ensure that customers receive catalogs
matching their merchandise preferences and to cross-sell merchandise to existing customers. Many of our
customers read and browse our catalogs, but purchase merchandise and services through our website and retail
stores. We use the catalogs to prompt customers to go to retail stores and our website or to our call centers to place
orders directly. We also utilize our marketing knowledge base to determine optimal circulation strategies to control
our catalog costs while continuing to grow our merchandising business.
We believe that our catalog distributions have been one of the primary drivers of the growth of our brand over
the years and are an important marketing tool for our Retail business. We have mostly shifted away from our larger
master catalogs, which offer a broad range of products, to smaller catalogs with a more seasonal theme, to specialty
catalogs, and to micro-season catalogs. Our specialty and micro-season catalogs offer products focused on one
outdoor activity, such as fly fishing, archery, or waterfowl, or one product category, such as women’s clothing. We
have enhanced the product mix in each title and created unique, personalized print media to push one consistent
message to our customers. Our strategic focus is to create steady, profitable growth in our direct channels, while
reducing marketing expenses and significantly increasing the percentage of market share we capture through
our website.
Financial Services Business
Our Financial Services segment provides customers with a rewards program that enhances revenue, operating
profitability, and customer loyalty in our Retail and Direct businesses. Through our wholly-owned bank subsidiary,
World’s Foremost Bank (“WFB,” “Financial Services segment,” or “Cabela’s CLUB”), we issue and manage
the Cabela’s CLUB Visa credit card, a rewards based credit card program. We believe the Cabela’s CLUB Visa
credit card loyalty rewards program is an effective vehicle for strengthening our relationships with our customers,
enhancing our brand name, and increasing our merchandise revenue. Our rewards program is a simple loyalty
program that allows customers to earn points whenever and wherever they use their Cabela’s CLUB Visa credit
card and then redeem earned points for products and services at our retail stores or through our Direct business.
The percentage of our merchandise sold to customers using the Cabela’s CLUB Visa credit card, including the
redemption of points, was approximately 30% for 2014.
Our bank subsidiary is a special purpose, FDIC insured, Nebraska state-chartered bank, which limits us to
issuing only consumer credit cards and certificates of deposit of one hundred thousand dollars or more. During
2014, we had an average of 1,817,012 active credit card accounts with an average balance of $2,167 compared to
an average of 1,688,843 active credit card accounts with an average balance of $2,073 during 2013. We define an
active credit card account as any account with an outstanding debit or credit balance at the end of any respective
month during the past 12 months.
Cabela’s CLUB Marketing. We have a low cost, efficient, and tailored credit card marketing program that
leverages the Cabela’s brand name. We market the Cabela’s CLUB Visa credit card through a number of channels,
including retail stores, our website, inbound telemarketing, and our catalogs. Our customers can apply for the
Cabela’s CLUB Visa credit card at our retail stores and website through our instant credit process and, if approved,
receive reward points available for use on merchandise purchases the same day. When a customer’s application
is approved through the retail store instant credit process, the customer’s new credit card is produced and given