Indies urged to help build a true picture of trade this year and next
Indi retailers are being called on once again, to tell it like it is with the launch of the annual PGs Independent Retail Barometer survey.
Now live, the survey will be open for submissions until early January so PG urges all indies to participate to find out just what’s happening on the retail front.
Every independent who sells cards is invited to take part and help paint an accurate picture of trade throughout 2024, as well as the hunches for the year ahead.
“It’s certainly been an interesting year,” said Jakki Brown, managing director of Max Publishing which owns Progressive Greetings and PG Buzz.net, “with the unprecedented two inflation-busting stamp price rises, uncertainty over Ofcom’s investigations into the future of the postal service, the ongoing saga of the sale of Royal Mail, and the new Labour government’s additional cost implications for employers.
“Research shows young people are falling back in love with card sending – is this coming through in stores, and how have these other elements affected the consumers’ card-buying habits? We need to know so we can compare 2024 with 2023 and deliver this all-important benchmark!”
The survey is already live, with a deadline of 8pm on Wednesday, 8 January, and all indie retailers of greeting cards are asked to help by contributing their opinions and comments.
Looking back at the findings of last year’s Barometer, indies started 2024 feeling a lot more optimistic than they were 12 months’ prior, with over half expecting to grow over the year, and that came off the back of 47% reporting that trade was up last year compared to 2022, with the continued ‘shop local’ drive cited as having been the biggest boon to takings while the cost-of-living crisis and postal issues (again!) topped the list of banes to trade.
Broadening their selection of gifts came up trumps for many respondents, knocking greeting cards off the second slot as having made the most positive contribution to their trade in the year.
That said, cards weren’t far behind in third position, continuing to hold their own as a very relevant and tangible way of communicating with loved ones – almost a third of respondents believe the consumer’s appreciation of greeting cards grew over 2022, and that’s following on from the Covid years when they saw a huge jump.
Engagement with customers through social media as well as other promotional activities also made a big difference to indies’ trade.
Among the many insights into the independent greeting card retail sector from the latest annual survey, is that humorous cards was the top performing greeting card category.
Christmas card singles took the second slot as the area that has grown the most year-on-year, a reflection that 27% of their customers sent more Christmas cards in 2023 compared to the year previous with the GCA #Cardmitment campaign coming in for some praise.
In response to what one word best describes the industry today, it was “vibrant” that came out tops, with “resilient” and “challenging” not far behind.
Jakki added: “It was very encouraging that last year’s Barometer readings showed such a boost in confidence for the year ahead – now we want to know if that panned out!
“We really want to hear from as many indies as possible so we can continue to provide an authoritative benchmark of indies’ collective experiences for the past 12 months as well as their hopes for the coming year.”
The survey can be completed within 12 minutes, or saved in sections so retailers can stop and start if they so wish. Respondents just need to be sure to access the link using the same device, however, all answers are final once they click done.
Whatever your business experience over the past year, all views count – and remember, every individual submission remains confidential. So, if you’re an independent retailer please do participate in this significant survey by clicking here and completing your answers by 8pm on Wednesday, 8 January.
