With no wedding season of any stature to ring the tills this Summer, greeting card retailers were hopeful that sales of ‘exam’ congratulations cards would make the grade. However, the fiasco of A level results, the U-turn on GCSEs last week and results of BTecs delayed until today while flaws in the algorithm were recalibrated, all this controversy impacted on card retailers who have noted a ‘downgrading’ in the volume of cards that are generally bought at this time of year.
Online greeting card operators, notably Thortful and Scribber, were however quick to respond to the situation uploading appropriate card designs to reflect this year’s non-exam taking.
“Sales of exam congrats cards have seemed a lot slower this year. The wording ‘congratulations on passing your exams’ just doesn’t really fit the situation,” said Penny Bailey, co-owner of the Bailey’s group of four card shops (in Southport, Ainsdale, Crosby and Maghull). Her own card sending was reflective of the unusual tone of exam results season. “I ended up sending a general Congratulations card to my son to mark him getting into Uni – it just seemed more appropriate. Poor kids…who’d have thought the pandemic would throw up so many problems,” said Penny.
A more general buying approach has also been evident in Inklings in Hungerford. As Fiona Haddrell, owner said: “We have sold lots of general ‘Congratulations’ and ‘Well Done’ cards rather than the ‘your hard work has paid off’, ’Congratulations on your Exam Results’ type of captions.”
The consensus for the shop’s customers is that people have still wanted to say well done, but also to acknowledge that this is a bit of a different year.
“I really feel for the young ones who were waiting (and still are for the BTecs) for their results. To have the whole fiasco played out in the national press and then not to be sure that what you were awarded is what you might have achieved should you have been able to do the exams, must have been very difficult,” said Fiona.
Sarah Green, co-owner of High Tide in Southwold and Wave in Bungay described the shops’ exam congratulations sales as having been “subdued. Normally people buy them in advance, in anticipation of good results, but this certainly didn’t happen this year,”undoubtedly partly due to the confusion and upset surrounding the way the results have been awarded.
With Scotland announcing its exam results a week or so ahead of England and Wales, Denise Laird, co-owner of Spirito has had a bit more time to track any delayed purchases.
“We did fine on exam congrats cards this year, but definitely not quite as well as we have done in previous years. I think that customers were a little unsure about sending congratulations on your exams cards with the confusion surrounding the grading and awards system this year.”
It’s not been all bad though, with Nigel Hamilton-Evans of Boroughbridge Post Office/The Well Good Card Shop marking it as a ‘A grade’. “Exam congrats cards are flying at the moment, despite people not really knowing what they are congratulating for!”
Top: Youngsters took to Westminister to protest against the way the grades were decided this year.
