Indie retailers trumpet 3D designs, specialist captions, advent calendars and Welsh cards
Charity packs are pretty much always a winner on the Christmas card front, and if they’re in Welsh, that’s a double whammy in Wales!
With just a couple of weeks to go before the big day, Creative Cove’s Sandra Jervis has found they’ve gone down a storm with Lampeter folk: “The last few years I’ve struggled to sell the non-charity packs so I made the decision to not buy packs unless they were supporting a charity, and I’m really pleased with how it’s gone.
“Museums & Galleries have been a huge hit, and the stunning Welsh charity packs from The Art File have been fantastic.”
While charity cards are doing well, the overall feedback from indie retailers is that single cards are beating pack sales, 3D designs are leading the trend for something different, traditional advent calendars have beaten off the chocolate version newcomer, and customers are really seeking out those specialist captions – they also recognise the value of second-class post at 75p, but stamp prices are raised constantly.
In the last of the series, PG Buzz gets a more detailed lowdown on the current state of Christmas card sales from indie greeting card retailers. Today we hear from Beverley Card Company, Creative Cove, Wishes Of Cudworth and Mantons…
Donna Stocks, Beverley Card Company, Beverley
What’s the balance between single cards and packs?
“We’ve found single cards have been very popular the past few weeks, but boxed cards also have now been selling fiercely.”
Are charity packs more popular than other packs?
“Charity packs have almost sold out with just a dozen or so packs remaining. The quality is good, it helps to make them a good choice.”
Any particular captions or trends coming through?
“Our Son & Partner, Grandson & Wife and Niece & Family have been particularly popular. Also Granddaughter & Husband and Nephew & family. Our bestselling single cards this year are 3D, we’ve found customers wanting something that little different from us this year.”
How did your advent calendar sales go?
“Our traditional card advent calendars sold out weeks ago! We’ll stock more next year.”
And how are festive season sales going in general?
“Overall. We’ve found customers buying specialist cards a couple at a time. Others have been buying in bulk recently. Trade has felt slow to start but I feel overall happy with sales so far this year. Lots of specialist cards have sold out and are out of stock with suppliers now, I believe as everyone has started early to spread the cost.
Sandra Jervis, Creative Cove, Lampeter
What’s the balance between single cards and packs?
“Packs of cards are far outstripping single cards at the moment, though that’s fairly usual for us here. Single cards tend to be big in the final week of Christmas shopping.”
Are charity packs more popular than other packs?
“This is the first year I haven’t bothered to buy in non-charity packs as charity packs are huge for us, taking up at least 70% of my Christmas card sales – and that’s me being very conservative with that figure!
“The last few years I’ve struggled to sell the non-charity packs so I made the decision to not buy packs unless they were supporting a charity, and I’m really pleased with how it’s gone. Museums & Galleries have been a huge hit, and the stunning Welsh charity packs from The Art File have been fantastic.”
Any particular captions or trends coming through?
“I find my customers are after the arty cards without any words on the front. They like a wintery card that has beautiful art work rather than the typical Merry Christmas with a hearth and stockings!”
Have customers cut back due to postage costs?
“I think customers are really thinking about who they send their cards to this year. We’ve had more people in buying cards, but those people are on it buying one or two packs. We get a fair few comments from customers about the postage, but most seem to recognise the second class stamp is so much cheaper, that it’s still worth sending. I think the closer to Christmas we get, the people that haven’t been as organised this year won’t be so happy about posting them!”
Do you sell stamps, and how are sales compared with previous years?
“Oh lordy, the sale of stamps has been astronomical this year!! Second class stamps have been mad, I’ve sold more of them in the first six days of December this year than in the whole of the last month!”
How did your advent calendar sales go?
“They’ve have been really strong, particularly the calendar cards. We sell Roger La Borde and Rachel Ellen ones, and I practically sold out of them. People love sending them, especially to go abroad as a little gift. No chocolate advent calendars in my shop – mostly because I can’t be trusted to actually sell them!”
And how are festive season sales going in general?
“November was really tough to begin with. I must admit, I was getting more and more nervous about how the season was going to go but the final week and a half of the month turned it around and December has come along with such strong sales that I’m already looking at selling through lines in their entirety. Monday, 4 December, was the best day in the history of the shop so I’m excited to see what the rest of the month has for me!”
Julia Keeling, Wishes Of Cudworth
What’s the balance between single cards and packs?
“We sell much more single cards than packs, with a 70-30 split in the favour of single cards.
Are charity packs more popular than other packs?
“We’ve ordered more charity packs as they always do well. Abacus and Hallmark are the pack leaders.”
Any particular captions or trends coming through?
“People are asking for even more unusual captions and double captions which might reflect the changing of the times and households. ‘Our house to yours’ is a big seller and ‘All of you, from all of us’ has quickly sold out. Great-Grandchildren has been asked for a lot this year and the odd unusual caption, like Cousin & Husband. Good card publishers for us include Abacus, Cherry Orchard, Cardigan Cards, Kingfisher, Hallmark, Nigel Quiney, Paper Rose and Words ’N’ Wishes, topped up with a little bit of wholesale but not as much as previous years.”
Do you sell stamps, and how are sales compared with previous years?
“We don’t sell stamps as the newsagents across the road do, and there’s little profit in them, especially if people want to pay on card. We’ve been recommending people buy early and send their cards second class to keep the costs down. We have a lovely poster from Cherry Orchard to highlight this.”
And how are festive season sales going in general?
“It’s definitely starting to feel like a white Christmas here with the Christmas lights going up on the High Street and even a little bit of snow – brrrr!
“It’s been a little slow this year and one can only think the terrible weather, as it’s either raining or freezing here in Barnsley, and cost-of-living crisis, are having a knock-on effect. Hopefully we’ll see some good last-minute sales but people were asking for and buying cards earlier than usual this year.
“It’s a balancing act for how soon to start putting the Christmas cards out. After the postal strikes last year and Covid before that, we’d hoped for a bounce back but this Christmas it does feel like people are watching their pennies. It just makes you grateful for every sale and riding out the tougher times. We’ve seen a few campaigns and reports in the media, promoting the sales of Christmas cards so that can only be a positive thing.
“We’re going to be running our own promotions on our socials from this weekend, something we’ve let slide a little. We’re going to be taking lots of photos ourselves and, as an added bonus, we had some lovely photography students from Barnsley College visit the shop and do some great shots of our cards and gifts for us.
We’ve also just finished our latest community project which is a printed History & Heritage Trail booklet. We’ll be putting a few in shop before Christmas and in the new year to promote the shop and the High Street.”
Chris Beards, Mantons, Port Erin
What’s the balance between single cards and packs?
“We’re selling far more singles than packs as we find sales of packs reduce every year.”
Are charity packs more popular than other packs?
“We sell both charity and non-charity packs and find people are more interested in the quality of the cards and the design than supporting a particular charity.”
Any particular captions or trends coming through?
“Specialist titles are becoming more popular with our customers. Being a card specialist we’re able to devote a large amount of space to these so our customers expect us to have everything possible. Our same-sex couple cards – Brother & Brother-in-Law etc – are proving especially popular this year.”
Have customers cut back due to postage costs?
“Card sending seems as popular as ever with our customers – although being a card specialist you probably wouldn’t visit us if you weren’t sending any cards!”
Do you sell stamps, and how are sales compared with previous years?
“The postage system on the Isle Of Man is slightly different so we only have one class of stamp at 80p. Customers seem to be taking their cards and gifts with them when visiting family and friends rather than posting.”
How did your advent calendar sales go?
“Our advent sales were a bit disappointing this year.”
And how are festive season sales going in general?
“Overall, our Christmas sales have been excellent so far, fingers crossed it continues until the 24th.”
