Both trends were very much in evidence at the recent annual Stationery Market in New York. Stationery and paper products continue to be an important segment of sales for retailers and represent almost a quarter of sales in the entire gift industry. The fact is that greeting cards have been considered a mature market for some years now and increased usage of electronic greetings, some of which are free, may well be a contributing factor in faltering sales. Also factored into the falling figures is the growth of card discounts over the past decade and the increased popularity of the 99-cent card. Furthermore, retailers have more access to discounted cards on the Internet.
Price suddenly matters.
It also means the sector is by no means dead. Half of the adult consumers surveyed purchased a greeting card in the past year from either a specialty retailer, a mass merchant or by mail order. The prime market for greeting cards and other stationery products follows a remarkably distinct demographic profile. That is an individual between 25 and 44, living in a communal household. Women buy cards more frequently than men.