The argos.co.uk catalogue shopping site has, over the years, evolved into one of the UK’s most popular shopping sites.

Argos is associated with UK’s largest (general products) retail chain, Argos.

Since its launch in 1973, Argos (the company behind argos.co.uk) has always operated as a catalogue merchant. Argos.co.uk is therefore the online version of the Argos catalogue we have always had for decades.

The 12 major product families in the Argos.co.uk catalogue

The argos.co.uk online catalogue has 12 product families. We will briefly look at each:

1. The home entertainment product family: to be found here are wares such as TVs, home audio systems, e-book reading devices, satellite navigation systems, car entertainment systems and so on.

2. The PCs, phones and office product family: to be found here are wares such as laptops, desktop computers, printers, mobile and desktop (office) phones, among others

3. The jewelry and watches family: to be found here are things like earrings, necklaces, jewelry boxes (and cleaners), kids, ladies and men’s watches… among others.

4. The toys and games family: the whole range of toys, from indoors to outdoors toys to special toys for specific age groups are to be found here.

5. The kitchen and laundry product family: to be found here are wares such as irons, washing machines, fridges, cookers, and pretty much anything else along these lines.

6. Nursery product family: to be found here are baby products – prams, pushchairs, baby toys… name it and you will find it here.

7. Photography product family: anything to do with photography, from cameras to lenses, camcorders, telescopes, memory cards and anything else along those lines is to be found here.

8. Health and personal care product family: among the products to be found here are things like toning aids, mobility aids, hair removal products, facial care products, skin care products, and so on.

9. Video games family: the whole range of video games and consoles are to be found here.

10. Garden and DIY product family: to be found here are handy tools, mowers, car accessories and son on.

11. Gifts and hobbies related product family: to be found here are gift boxes, occasion-made gift items, puzzles, kids and adult’s games, arts and crafts… to name but a few.

12. Home product and furniture family: on sale here are items such as fireplaces, mattresses, lighting equipment, heaters, air conditioning equipment and pretty much anything else you may need along those lines.

Argos.co.uk is one of the most popular shopping sites in the world, with most of its customers being in the UK. It is quite different from most other shopping sites – given the fact that it identifies itself as a ‘catalog shopping site.’ This classification of Argos as a catalog shopping site often causes people to wonder how it may be different from other shopping websites, and how exactly it works. These are the questions we will be trying to find answers to, as we explore the workings of Argos catalog shopping site.

As it turns, the procedure involved in shopping at Argos.co.uk is not very difficult from the shopping process at most other online stores. It always starts with registration at Argos.co.uk, after which you get an account through which you can transact with Argos. Shopping at Argos.co.uk is still a question of browsing the website, to get to the ‘department’ that sells what you are looking for. It is still a question of browsing through the relevant department, to come to the section that sells the product you are searching for. This is still the way things work even in major brick and mortar stores; where wares are departmentalized, and the departments divided into ‘sections’ to make it easier for shoppers to browse. Having gotten to the relevant section, shopping at Argos is still a question of browsing through the products on offer there, to get to get the brand you want. This then, you are supposed to drag into the shopping cart, before checking out.

It is after the point of checking out that difference between Argos and most other shopping sites manifests. For while most other sites will automatically ship the stuff to you, Argos also gives you the choice of going ahead to (personally) pick the stuff you bought at one of its locations, if you so wish. This way, you can get to save yourself shipping/delivery costs.

As a catalog merchant, Argos is the owner of many of the brands it sells. This makes is quite different from most other online vendors, who typically don’t own the brands of the products they sell. We have to be clear, though, that Argos.co.uk is not the owner of all brands it sells: just some.

Being a catalog merchant means that Argos endeavors to have, in its inventory, truly notable products, sold at truly notable prices. This makes it the ideal place to shop when you are on a tight budget, or when you are in search of ‘hard-to-find’ products.

We can easily identify four reasons as to why the argos catalogue shopping site is so popular:

1. The stuff on sale at Argos.co.uk catalogue shopping site is sold at low prices. The reputation for price-effectiveness is one that Argos built long ago, when it was still a ‘paper catalogue’ operation. It is a reputation it has carried online, to its Argos.co.uk catalogue shopping site. In the days when it was an ordinary (mailed paper) catalogue operation, Argos had to come up with very attractive pricing propositions, if people were to respond to its catalogue offers. That, then, became part of its business plan; a part it seems to have conveniently carried online to the Argos.co.uk catalogue shopping site we are talking about. The price differences will, of course, be more noticeable on certain products than on others. All said and done though, many UK shoppers know that Argos’ prices are typically unbeatable. And this makes it a shopping site of first choice to price-conscious shoppers, whose numbers are rising by the day, as hard economic times continue taking their toll.

2. There is plenty of stuff on sale through the Argos.co.uk catalogue shopping site. It helps that Argos’ inventory is so wide that almost anyone who logs into Argos leaves with the particular product they came in search of. General experience has shown that it is the better stocked shops that tend to have the most customers. The same trend seems to manifest online as well. Stores like Argos, where customers can find all products under one roof tend to have many customers subsequently. It is, actually, online shoppers like those who frequent Argos who seem to care more about store inventory size. That is because shipping costs money. In most cases, the more compact a shipment is, the lower the charges for shipping it are likely to be. A single shipment is likely to present a smaller logistical difficulty (in following up) than multiple shipments strewn all over.

3. Argos offers its customers several delivery/collection alternatives: unlike other online vendors, who can only ship stuff, Argos offers its customers the choice between having the stuff they buy delivered to their homes, or them (the customers) going to pick it up at Argos locations. This translates into greater freedom, especially for folks who find typical shipping costs to be unjustifiably high.

4. Argos long-time reputation: the reputation that Argos, the mother company behind Argos, had built over the years has helped the Argos catalogue site find greater acceptance faster.

Up until recently, Argos Additions was part of the Argos catalogue retail business. It has, however, been sold to the Shop Direct Group, and is therefore now part of the Shop Direct empire. A visit to the previous Argos Additions website section will tell you as much, and advise you to visit the Shop Direct site, for interaction with what was previously known as Argos Additions.

On the change from Argos Additions to Additions Direct

As mentioned earlier, the change from Argos Additions to Additions Direct was brought about by the sale of the Argos Additions business to ‘Shop Direct.’

A closer look, however, reveals that almost everything has remained the same in the business: so that pretty much anything you could have bought at Argos Additions is available from Additions Direct. The folks at Additions Direct have also worked real hard on the Internet optimization front, to the extent that a search on ‘Argos Additions’ today leads you directly to the Additions Direct website.

The Argos additions business seems to have been sold as a ‘going concern,’ leading to a situation where Argos is even advising its customers who may still have had pending orders or other issues with it to check on the Additions Direct website, to which Argos actually provides a link.

What you can buy from Additions Direct (Previously Argos Additions)

As noted earlier, you can buy from Additions Direct pretty much anything you could have bought there when the business was known as Argos Direct. Ownership and brand name may have changed, but the business fundamentals have remained more or less the same.

Specifically, you can get from Additions Direct things like menswear, ladies clothing and accessories, child and baby products, electrical and electronics, entertainment products, jewelry, furniture, sports and leisure products, as well as home and garden products. Simply put, as was the case with Argos Additions, Additions Direct is a one stop shop, where you can find pretty much any product you are searching for.

What you will love about Additions Direct (previously Argos Additions)

Some of the features you are bound to love Additions Direct (previously Argos Additions) for include:

* Fantastic pricing: Argos Additions was known for its fantastic, often unbeatable pricing, and this is something the new owners at Additions Direct have endeavored to maintain, and improve upon.

* Opportunity to pay in installments: if you love something, but you can’t pay for it outright, Additions Direct allows you to pay for it in installments. You will have to be qualified for this scheme, as per the Additions Direct terms and conditions. But the arrangement is such that, when you spend more than fifty pounds, and you run into hard times, you can even stay without paying for up 12 months. That would be provided you make a commitment to start paying when things look up for you.

* Next day shipping/delivery: Additions Direct, previously Argos Additions is one of the very few retailers in the UK to offer this service.

* Free returns: if you order something from Additions Direct, and it turns out not to be satisfactory on one account or another, you will be allowed to return it, for free, and without being pushed around.