3/17/2023 0 Comments Quiet times greeting card shop![]() ![]() “People are on social media all the time, sending a heartfelt message to someone special requires more effort in, and that’s a card. “We have also seen a consistent trend in recent years with 18-34 year olds sending more cards than a generation ago. “Card sending is a British tradition, we send more cards per capita than any other nation,” she said. Greeting Card Association chief executive, Amanda Fergusson said the lockdowns of last year is driving people to buy Christmas cards earlier than ever this year. ![]() “We utilise our website to attract customers, which has shown significant growth to market our stores,” he explained.Īs Christmas nears, gifts and cards retailers may be relying too heavily on Christmas and could be at risk of neglecting other categories.ĭespite three national lockdowns in the year to January 31, 76 per cent of adults still purchased greeting cards in 2020. Proctor told Retail Gazette that the greeting cards retailer is not expanding its Christmas specific ranges this year, but it is ensuring that it has sufficient stock of its new generic gift ranges which include confectionery, soft toys and novelty socks. “Christmas has started early this year with Christmas card sales showing double digit growth,” Scribbler managing director, John Procter said. Card Factory reported an improvement in sales thanks to its Christmas range In response to this boost, the retailer has brought forward the third phase of its festive product offering, launching it into 350 stores as it continues to sell well at this early stage of the season. Its customers are already ”responding well” to its Christmas ranges, indicating that there have been early buying patterns for Christmas. The gift and cards retailer found that the average basket value over this quarter continued to exceed pre-pandemic levels – up 22.5 per cent on a two-year like-for-like basis. Total sales declined 19 per cent to £206.2 million.ĭefying this trend, Card Factory recently reported an improvement in its sales as Brits returned to its stores after the Covid-19 pandemic. The Works saw its sales drop by almost 20 per cent for the 53 weeks to May 2. In a hasty attempt to improve its offering, Clintons announced in September this year that it would begin selling a selection of alcoholic drinks for the first time after partnering with independent Shropshire distillery Henstone. The plans would allow the retailer to reduce rents or axe 117 of its 134 stores. The year 2019 appeared to be a crucifying period for UK gifts and card retailers as Smiggle’s Aussie owner Premier Investments revealed plans to drastically downsize its business in the UK market. As of 2018, the UK greeting card market value is worth £1.57bn This year, greeting cards and stationery retailer Paperchase shuttered a bunch of stores since it launched a CVA in 2019, while Clintons’ 2019 administration led to the threat of losing 2500 staff members. ![]() The greeting card market in the UK is worth £1.57 billion, according to Statista (2018), but it appears that gifts and greeting card retailers – particularly those with a strong physical presence – are struggling to trade on the British high street. Card and gift sales increase dramatically during the Christmas period – which in the UK can start as early as October – as people purchase gifts, decorations and other supplies to celebrate the festive season.Ĭonsumers inevitably turn to greeting card retailers during this time, and in 2020 the estimated value of Christmas greeting cards sold as single cards in the UK was valued at £161.8 million. ![]()
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