Christmas card sales are down 22%, says retailer

Two independent retailers said the price of a first class stamp and the cost of living were among reasons Christmas card sales were down this year.

John Bird, from EJ Greetings and Computers in Peterborough, said: "We're 22% down on sales, week on week, compared to last year."

Greeting card sales agent Dave Langdon said shops were facing more competition from online sellers, but added he had sold more festive cards this year than last.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said it tried to keep postage prices as low as possible, adding a second class stamp was "just 87p".

Mr Bird, 68, whose shop is in the Rivergate Shopping Centre, said he had much more unsold festive stock in his store room than usual this close to Christmas.

"Some of that initially was the budget, people were putting off spending money - I thought there'd be a bit of a rush afterwards, but there hasn't," he said.

But he also felt postage was a factor, saying the "cost of card is lower than the stamp".

A first class stamp now costs £1.70.

"This will affect us for the rest of the year," Mr Bird added.

"If we haven't moved this [stock], it affects what we can buy for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, because the money's tied up this stock."

Nigel Lambert, who runs Greetings card shop in March, Cambridgeshire, agreed the cost of postage was having an impact.

He added sales were not helped by alternatives, like e-cards, or people buying from online retailers and supermarkets.

But he added: "With Christmas cards, people leave it to the last minute and I expect to shift 75% [of the stock] in the next three weeks."

His son Nick, 24, who works in his shop, admitted "a lot of my friends" prefer to send e-cards, especially with "the price of everything going up".

But he provided a robust defence of the traditional Christmas card.

"With the amount you spend on everyday things - coffees, food - to send something meaningful to someone, with words that are going to stick with them and a gesture that means something - I think the cost is genuinely very little," he said.

"And it captures the good will and spirit of Christmas, which messages on the internet can't do."

Mr Langdon, from East Anglian Sales Ltd, supplies retailers across Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

While his card sales are up, he will not find out how well they have sold in the shops until January.

Boxes of charity cards were proving popular, he added.

"Affordability is definitely up there, there has been a cost of living crisis, so if people can buy a box of charity greeting cards, they can cover lots of their friends and family in one hit - and it also ties into the season of giving," he said:

Traditional greeting card shops also faced more bricks-and-mortar competition, from venues including coffee shops and garden centres.

Mr Langdon said: "As an industry we've had to adapt and start servicing different types of places, but it's hard to argue against [the fact] there has been a decline in greeting card sales."

The Royal Mail spokesperson said: "We look carefully at our prices and aim to keep them as low as possible while balancing the rising costs of providing the universal service.

"Our second class service offers great value, you can send a letter from the Scilly Isles, off Cornwall, to Shetland for just 87p."

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