Doing it for themselves

50% of indie cardies report growth thanks to improving their greetings selection

 

As retail struggled over the past year, cardies took matters into their own hands with PG’s 2024 Retail Barometer showing improvements to their greeting card selection helped enormously, as 50% reported growth and around the same is expected for their trade in 2025.

In the annual survey of independent greeting card retailers, including Cardgains members as well as those who don’t belong to the buying group, respondents told how their own hard work has been couple with the public’s greater appreciation of cards, with humour leading the way, enhancing a continuing shop local trend that put more money in indies’ tills, with stationery cited as an area to write home about for the year ahead.

Above: Business has been good and average spend increased
Above: Business has been good and average spend increased

Delving into the findings of the only annual survey into the health and wealth of the independent greeting card retailer PG has discovered that half of all respondents felt business was better in 2024 than 2023, while 29% kept on an even keel, and 5% saw the average spend per customer increase significantly, with a good chunk at 53% experiencing a slight increase.

“It’s great that cardies have been able to improve things by their own efforts,” said Jakki Brown, MD of Max Publishing which undertakes the independent research every year. “Too often indie retailers are buffeted by things they have no control over, so being able to see positive growth by improving their offer to customers is really heartening.

“And, of course, it’s off the back of some great product coming through from publishers and suppliers and the whole industry pulling together with the #Cardmitment campaign reminding the public how much they love sending and receiving cards.”

Above: Improved card selections topped the positive table
Above: Improved card selections topped the positive table

Following four years of the shop local drive topping the table as the main factor that had a positive effect on business, it dropped into second place behind an improved card selection, which had moved up from third.

Social media is still significant, staying in fourth place, while improvements to shop displays climbed one place to seventh – and participation on online platforms such as Amazon, Faire and Trouva jumped from 14th to ninth spot.

At the other end of the scale the cost-of-living crisis is still the main detrimental effect on business for the third year running and, not surprisingly given the upheaval at Royal Mail, postal issues followed closely in second place, while staffing costs and minimum wage issues moved up a place to fourth, and concerns over implications from Labour’s first budget in 14 years and a drop in customer footfall are new fears at fifth and sixth places respectively.

Parking issues, business rates and rent reviews each jumped in importance to seventh, eighth and ninth in the table from 11th, 12th, and 13th, as a reduction in service levels from suppliers, reps and agents also loomed large in 10th place, up from 15th – interestingly, the expansion of value and discount retailers dropped seven places to 13.

Above: Budget implications is a new entry on the issues chart
Above: Budget implications is a new entry on the difficulties chart

Back to the good news, 7% of indies feel the consumer’s appreciation of greeting cards has increased significantly, while 34% saw a slight increase, and on the expectations for business in 2025 front, just 2% fear a major decline, while 10% expect significant growth, and 39% each are looking to marginal growth or remaining about the same.

Happily, a good giggle is still the best medicine on the card front, as the humour category again tops the genre growth chart, while Mother’s Day sales climbed four places to fourth, although Father’s Day dropped a spot into 10th, and the mini-cards phenomenon has entered in 12th place.

All surveys were completed by 10 January, 2025, and fuller details can be seen in the upcoming February issue of Progressive Greetings magazine.

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