As changing work patterns and traffic congestion make it more difficult to get to shops, mail order catalogues are gaining ground against traditional retailers.

But before changing shopping patterns, consumers should evaluate the convenience against the real price of shopping through glossy magazines.

In the US and Britain, catalogues have been a major part of the retailing landscape for a number of years but the diversity, which guarantees the consumer a wide choice of products with competitive pricing, is not yet available here.

A typical US catalogue goes to nearly seven million customers in 16 mailings a year, according to research conducted by the US Postal Service and the Direct Marketing Association in New York.

On average, a US catalogue has 55 pages, 300 products and generates 204,300 orders a year, with a median order of $81 (€71.39) for two products. In 1997, 13.91 billion catalogues were mailed marking a saturation point in the US catalogue industry.

The success of the home shopping option has even prompted many large US and British department stores to develop mail order services.

British company Next pioneered the "one brand, two ways to shop" approach that is being widely copied, according to Verdict Research Limited, a London-based retail consultants. "The customer is given the choice of catalogues, stores and ultimately online facilities for where to shop and they can take goods home from a store or have them delivered."

However, Next has encountered mixed fortunes in its venture into mail-order shopping in the Republic. The service was withdrawn after a year because, according to the company, the exchange rate differential between the pound and sterling made it unviable. But Next has not ruled out its re-introduction.

Compared to the diversity in the US and British markets, the choice in the Republic is limited. The mail order catalogue market is in its infancy but, according to An Post - an obvious beneficiary of it - it is wide open for development.

Irish home shopping has long provided a convenient way to buy clothing, household items and gifts for those living outside major shopping areas or with physical or transportation difficulties. Mail order companies have recently tried to expand their potential market and two distinct types of catalogue have emerged.

The first is represented by long established catalogue, Family Album, which targets the budget end of the market. Its magazine is packed with a variety of household items and clothing at moderate prices.

The business has been operating in the Republic for almost 18 years and is owned by the British publicly owned company, Great Universal Stores (GUS), which also operates Argos and Celtic Hampers in Ireland.

Although Family Album and Argos are both catalogue-based, only Family Album offers mail order services in the Republic. Another feature distinguishing Family Album from its sister catalogue is the method of payment available.

Unlike Argos shops, the Family Album catalogue does not accept credit card payment but instead offers customers a line of credit. The APR is a variable rate, currently 32.77 per cent. Alternatively, customers must pay in full, in advance, either by postal money order, or through An Post Billpay or AIB Personal Banking Services.

This type of shopping may benefit those without a credit card or those needing to pay for items in monthly instalments. But for those not paying up front it also increases the cost of items by charging an APR much higher than that offered for a credit card transaction. Bank credit cards, for example, currently offer APRs ranging from 18.2 to 22.95 per cent.

Individual item prices are also something to consider. A Black & Decker KD562A Hammer Drill is £39.90 in Argos shops, £42.99 in the Family Album catalogue and £38.99 in Texas Homebase.

A Pentax Espio 738 zoom camera is £95.97 in Argos, £99.99 in Family Album, but £90.00 in Camera Centre stores.

A Morphy Richards Select 404 food processor is £62.75 in Argos, £69.99 in Family Album and £69.99 in Arnotts.

Delivery charges vary by company and some only benefit those living near Dublin. Argos shops have free delivery within 20 miles of Dublin but charge £25 for deliveries elsewhere in the Republic. The Family Album catalogue has free delivery regardless of location in the Republic. Return charges are the responsibility of the customer.

Catalogues offer a convenient and less hectic way to shop but unless items are paid off quickly, or in advance, they are much more expensive than a trip to the shops. Credit lines are only worthwhile when they offer competitive APRs and are used wisely for short periods. However, if you live by the "time is money" credo and convenient shopping for unusual, premium items is your only consideration, a new breed of upmarket, speciality mail order shopping may be worth a look.

"People don't have time, they're working hard because of the tiger economy and they have less time for leisure pursuits like shopping," says Jennifer Grimes of Grimes & Co, a Dublin-based mail order catalogue specialising luxury home products.

"We offer something out of the ordinary of good quality. It's delivered and may be returned with no questions asked. We offer value in the product line and service," she said.

The service was launched in September 1997 and, Ms Grimes says: "We did it because it wasn't on offer and for something to catch on it has to be on offer. As an American, shopping by mail order is a way of life. By perception it's different here, as it might denote bargain shopping."

This view is supported by a report compiled by London-based retail consultant, Verdict Research Limited, which identifies a change in the perception of mail order shopping in Britain. "The calibre of the new entrants into direct home shopping are removing any remaining stigma over this form of shopping and taking it into the retailing mainstream. This is encouraging new home shopping customers at the upper end of the social scale."

Companies operating on a strictly mail order basis, or without retail outlets, are unusual in the Republic. Grimes & Co eventually began selling through retail outlet Urbana in Temple Bar. It accepts credit cards but home delivery is £2.95 for items up to 30lbs and £3.95 for items 30lbs and over.

Grimes & Co is clearly targeting the top end of the market. "Originally it was meant to be contemporary interiors and now it's an eclectic range of beautifully designed products and unusual things we like. For example, we're selling gourmet jellybeans from the States, baby booties with daisies on them and things that strike us as unusual."

But as further mail order catalogues, whether bargain or speciality, become available they will have to increase their competitiveness. Mail order shopping may look more or less attractive once you have determined how much your time and their products are worth.