Cardially yours
A new report from Mintel indicates that UK consumers continue to value giving and receiving physical cards rather than digital greetings.
The market for greeting cards and personal stationery has proved resilient, growing to £1.87bn in revenue terms last year, despite ongoing store closures and the trend towards digital communications.
While consumers over 40 continue to send roughly the same number of cards every year, younger consumers aged 16-24 are buying more greetings cards than a year ago, even if they feel less pressure to buy them.
The shift to buying greeting cards online has impacted profitability at card and stationery retailers, with companies such as Paperchase adjusting their operating models and reducing store numbers. The greeting card market is expected to continue to grow to almost £2bn by 2023, with more sales migrating online and intense price competition.
The Greeting Card Association claims that sending and receiving cards is an important part of UK culture, with consumers buying more cards per person than any other country, at 33 each a year.
Senior Retail Analyst, Jane Westgarth, said: ‘The greetings card and personal stationery markets have held up, despite the tendency for so many forms of communication to be purely digital these days.
Even with the availability of digital calendars and diaries, consumers remain enthusiastic about physical versions. Growth in consumer spending on greetings cards is being driven by heightened demand for single cards, particularly at Christmas.
Say it with a card
Remember, giving a card to colleagues is a great way to say thank you or to celebrate birthdays and other events and festivals such as Eid al-Fitr.
Also called the ‘Festival of Breaking the Fast,’ Eid is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to mark the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.
Eid al-Fitr 2019 will begin in the evening of Tuesday 4 June and end in the evening of Wednesday 5 June. If any of your colleagues are celebrating Eid, you can order a card today for immediate dispatch.
Our Appreciate site offers a wide range of celebration cards as well as a ‘pick and mix’ feature, allowing you to order a variety of different cards in one pack.
Our Appreciate cards offer you an easy way to recognise hard-working colleagues and ensure that they feel valued and appreciated.
