The Rise of Greetings Cards
At the tap of a screen you can send a digital message to anyone around the world. But it could be argued that those messages lose a sense of personality and sentimentality. Printed greetings cards are used for several events throughout the year. From Valentine’s Day to Christmas, birthdays to anniversaries, there is a card for any occasion (don’t forget Father’s Day is just round the corner).
During 2020, a year of challenge and uncertainty, it seemed instead of sending that birthday message via text, we went out and brought printed greeting cards instead. With social distancing in place and friends and family unable to see each other, online sales of printed greeting cards increased by 148%, weighing in at a record breaking £439 million!
The fact that we turned to print proves that sending a message through a written letter or greetings card holds much deeper value than a quick text or email. The effort that goes into writing a greetings card has a profound impact on the reader. Discover the benefits of putting pen to paper in The Written Letter Revival: 5 Reasons To Put Pen To Paper.
With restrictions slowly being lifted in the UK, the spike in online card sales is predicted to decrease slightly for 2021. However, it is expected to stay at almost double the rate of 2019 and to slowly grow year on year, partly due to the pandemic.
Greeting cards, unless kept for personal reasons or from a special occasion, are generally discarded a week or two after they’ve been gifted. That’s not a problem as the main component of a greeting card, paper, is an inherently sustainable and recyclable product. The European recycling rate for paper is 74%; it’s one of the most recycled products in the world. So don’t forget to recycle your unwanted greeting cards when you’re finished with them!