R
E ING
CA
DS
Happy
Birthday!
Continued from page 43
The market for greeting cards is a
tough one in today’s environment
with consumers having so many faster,
easier and in many cases cheaper
ways to send a greeting. Times have
gotten even tougher as a result of the
current recession. According to a new
report from Research and Markets, the
market for greeting cards in America
had a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 2.03 per cent from 2002
to 2008, slower than growth in the
overall stationery market which posted
a healthier 3.02 per cent CAGR in the
same period.
Many cultural trends are afoot that
are changing consumers’ demand
for greeting cards, but one thing is
for certain: the business of selling
traditional greeting cards is only going
to get harder.
The prime market for stationery
and greeting card marketers are young
adults aged 25 to 34. Consumers in
this age group spend 41 per cent more
than buyers aged 35 to 44, according
to a new study of the greeting card
and stationery market from Unity
Marketing.
Over 80 per cent of young adults
aged 24 to 34 purchased greeting cards
in the past year and spent on average
$85. However, there’s one category of
greeting cards that they reject.
“They leave sending Christmas cards
up to the ‘old folks’ – their parents and
grandparents,” explains Pam Danziger
of Unity Marketing.
Canadians buy roughly 600 million
greeting cards each year according to
the Gift Packaging & Greeting Card
Association of Canada, and the winter
holiday season accounts for 30 per cent
of sales.
Thank
You
The Greeting Card Association
(GCA), a U.S.-based group of
publishers and wholesalers, states that
card sales are split 50-50 between
seasonal and everyday. The most
popular everyday cards are birthday
(60 per cent), anniversary (eight
per cent), get well (seven per cent),
friendship (six per cent) and sympathy
(six percent). The most popular
seasonal cards are Christmas (60
per cent), Valentine’s ( 25 per cent),
Mother’s Day (four per cent), Easter
(three per cent) and Father’s Day
(three per cent).
Greeting cards featuring high-style
looks, inventive designs, unusual paper
stocks and eye-catching embellishments
are gaining favour with consumers who
are seeking “something special” in their
card giving, according to members of
the GCA. This has led to the creation
of more hand-crafted cards, cards that
are intricately designed or innovatively
engineered, and cards incorporating
ribbons, feathers, glitter and beads.
Despite their higher cost, the designer-
fashion flare and artistic uniqueness of
these cards continues to win the favour
of many card purchasers.
Paper cards with some kind of high-
tech element are also a hot commodity.
“Movement, lights or some kind of
3D element…that’s the product that’s
been selling,” says Zev Weiss, ceo of
American Greetings.
After spending several years
concentrating on personal fulfillment
and cocooning, consumers are now
reaching out, seeking to connect,
enhance and nurture their relationships.
As such, the GCA reports that friendship
cards, encouragement cards and other
everyday non-occasion cards are
showing the greatest sales growth.
Stationery
for the Season
Abacus wedding cards from Paperpotamus
make a special statement with glitter and
sparkles. Each is individually cello-wrapped.
SRP: $4.25 each
TEL: (604) 940-3370
WWW.PAPERPOTAMUS.COM
Little Seashell Cards for Mother’s and
Father’s Day feature hand-applied glitter
and crystal rhinestones.
SRP: $4.49 each
TEL: (416) 236-9139
WWW.LITTLESEASHELLCARDS.COM
Wedding cards from Ilustris featuring the
sketches of Polish artist Andrzej Tylkowski.
SRP: $2.99 each
TEL: (604) 376-7675
WWW.ILUSTRIS.CA
