Are greeting cards one of the last few everyday reasons to put pen to paper? A survey undertaken by Cunard and Sunday Times Style to promote yesterday’s National Writing Day (Wednesday 27 June) reveals that 65% of people aged between 25 to 34 said they hardly ever picked up a pen. It also shows that one in four of us has not received a written letter for at least 10 years.
Other findings include that two thirds of young adults say that they use a pen less often than five times a week and more than a quarter prefer emojis to words when expressing their feelings. And 26% of people have not sent or received a handwritten letter in the past decade, but if they have sent a letter the most common is a thank you letter followed by letters of complaint or condolence, and romantic messages.
However, despite this, the nostalgia value of a handwritten letter remains high with 89% saying that they would love to receive more letters and 70% saying that they had a treasured collection of letters received in the past.
The survey is slightly at odds with the feeling among the greeting card trade, with sales of greeting cards at an all time high and how the generally accepted resurgence in stationery is still going strong. The last GCA UK Greeting Card Market Report showed the British public spent £1.75 billion on greeting cards in 2016 (compared to 2015), up a chunky £500,000 on the previous year. Not surprisingly the bulk of the sales in that period came from everyday cards (accounting for 77%), encouragingly with relations and occasions, the bedrock of the specialist retailer, performing very well, up by almost £1million on the previous year.
“The findings in the latest GCA report prove that the British appetite for buying and sending greeting cards continues unabated, with cards remaining the preferred choice when it comes to expressing a personal message,” says Sharon Little, ceo of the GCA.
