Retail and Printing: From the Argos Catalogue to the Carrier Bag

There was a time when one printed catalogue sat in more UK homes than almost any other book except the Bible. It's gone now, but the print that built retail, bags, signage, price tags, receipts, never really left; it just changed shape.

Europe's Most-Printed Publication

The Argos catalogue, launched in 1972, became genuinely enormous: at its peak it was reportedly Europe's most widely-printed publication, with only the Bible found in more UK homes. Print runs fell from around 10 million to 3 million copies per edition over its final decade as shopping moved online, and Argos finally scrapped the printed catalogue in 2020 after a 48-year run — a striking, single-company snapshot of how far retail print has shifted in one generation.

What Retail Print Actually Covers

The catalogue's decline tells only part of the story. Retail still runs on a wide range of printed material: shopping bags, price tags, signage and point-of-sale displays, window graphics, flyers and coupons, receipts. Some of this has genuinely gone digital — e-receipts, app-based loyalty — but packaging, bags and in-store signage remain essential, precisely because they're physical, branded objects a customer actually carries out of the shop.

Why Bags and Signage Have Survived

A branded carrier bag does something a digital receipt never can: it walks down the street advertising you, for free, carried by someone who chose to buy from you. That's the same basic logic that's kept in-store signage and window displays valuable even as advertising spend has moved overwhelmingly online.

Where This Shows Up in What We Print

We print branded paper bags, signage and point-of-sale display material for independent shops and retailers — see our business stationery & publications range for bags, stickers and flyers, and large format & signage for shopfront and window display material.

Frequently asked questions

How significant was the Argos catalogue?

At its peak it was reportedly Europe's most widely-printed publication, found in more UK homes than any book except the Bible, before being discontinued in 2020 after 48 years.

What retail print is still in demand?

Branded shopping bags, in-store signage, point-of-sale displays and window graphics remain in steady demand, even as catalogues and some marketing print have moved online.

Do you print branded shopping bags?

Yes — through our business stationery range, alongside stickers and flyers for retail use.