Love is in the air for greetings retailers as big day keeps customers coming in
It’s really is all about size these days as greetings retailers are reporting it’s the bigger the better for Valentine’s cards, with the larger Wife designs selling out.
Across the UK, love has proved a winner yet again as most cardies report growth or steady sales and two at least were able to explain on national radio the importance of Valentine’s Day to both lovers and the economy.
Stoke Newington-based Earlybird’s co-owner Heidi Early was on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Nicky Campbell show, hosted by Gordon Smart, in the morning on Friday, 14 February, while Norfolk’s Cards ’N’ Thing’s Helen Southgate spoke to the station’s Stephen Nolan at 11pm.
Having linked in to Earlybird’s social media posts about the history of Valentine figures from Roman times and learned that love messages have been a thing since the 1500s at least – definitely not an invention of the greeting card industry! – host Gordon also looked at flowers before hearing from a caller who admitted his wife had been sending him the same Valentine card for 12 years but he’d never noticed.
That made Heidi laugh, and she pointed out: “People do love sending Valentine’s cards, and it’s about what people can afford. Greeting cards are still really affordable, which is why it’s obviously good for my business as a greetings card publisher and retailer.
“We do well at this time of the year. At an average price of £2.99 for a card, it’s cheaper than a coffee, so everyone can afford to be a bit romantic.”
Confirming that Mother’s Day is still the biggest season for card sales because more people want to thank their mums, Heidi told Gordon that helping those on their own is being recognised: “There’s a quite a growing area of cards for people who are much might be struggling at a certain occasion, whether it’s Mother’s Day, Valentine’s or Christmas. There are cards that are more thinking of you, just sending you a hug, sending you a smile, that kind of thing. That’s a really nice thing to do, to send a card to someone just to say, I sent you a bit of sunshine today.”
Later, Helen – who can be seen in the reel above tempting customers in with new puppy Tommy – answered presenter Stephen’s question about real cards versus virtual ones with: “We’ve been busier than last year as a card is still a really affordable way to show somebody that you care, to send some joy. And sometimes that’s not always to you know somebody who’s really close to you. It might be to a family member or to a Galentine, a friend. We’ve had a brilliant year this year.”
And she said the day before was busier with quite a few customers dashing in during the afternoon, while the big day had a smaller rush, including parents with youngsters after school:
“Customers want to have that connection with a person in the shop still, which is a really big part of what we do.”
Having said she thinks it’s the guys who buy more Valentine’s than the girls – and that size does matter! – Helen shocked Stephen with the news that her most expensive product is an £11 design in a box, while adding that cards start at 99p so there’s something for everyone.
Elsewhere greeting card retailers reported that it had been a pretty good opening spring season event, although there’s a mixed demand on the Galentine’s Day front…
Rob Sampson, A Stone’s Throw, Sherwood
“For us, our sales of Valentine’s cards were almost 10% up on the last few years – nothing spectacular, but enough to keep us busy!
“The most popular card was ‘All the other cards made me want to vom!’ by Ohh Deer, selling out well before the final day. The other popular card I’d point out as particularly noteworthy was the single red rose by Sarah Kelleher which has no writing on at all, which was interesting to see.
“There’s clearly still strong demand for both humour and sentimental ones though as, beyond a few particular cards selling especially well, everything else went fairly evenly.
“Cards that are blank inside are definitely more popular than those with printed sentiment with our customers.
“For the second year in a row, we sold a grand total of zero Galentine’s Day cards and, having not seen many such cards in other retailers, it appears this particular trend is over, as far as we can tell.
“The most notable thing about this year was the significant upwards shift in gift purchases in the two weeks before Valentine’s – over 25% higher than last year. We don’t stock the more traditional themed Valentine’s gifts – bears with hearts, heart-shaped chocolates, heart balloons, etc – so we can’t be sure whether the increase was specifically related to gifts for Valentine’s Day, but sales of things like jewellery, fashion accessories, and homewares were all up. We sold out of Gorgeous mugs by Keith Brymer Jones, and also sold out of some of the ruder varieties – I’m not sure what that says about our customers!
“Sales of gifts growing at a higher rate than cards is interesting – a bit of an increase in the number of customers, but a substantial increase in average transaction value, hopefully setting us up for a good year ahead.
“Over the last few months we’ve had new signage, planters and artwork on the exterior, and we believe this played a part in our uptick, so we’ll be very interested to read how other retailers did!”
Above: Bailey’s showed their range of stock on social media
Penny Bailey, Bailey’s, Ainsdale, Crosby and Maghull
“I’m pretty pleased with the overall picture. Our card sales were on a par with 2024, no growth unfortunately, but overall sales were up by almost 23%, which I suspect is partly due to the Jellycat effect.
“As usual, we did really well with captions for Wife and Husband, but I’ve noticed a strong demand for Someone Special, or cards appropriate to give to sons and daughters.
“Although humour is really popular, it does feel like sentiment wins the day for Valentine’s, and the bigger the better for all the fabulous wives out there!
“Galentine’s Day hasn’t really taken off yet with us, though we did sell a handful. I suspect those sales will creep up over the coming years, as you couldn’t miss it across all social media platforms.
“The usual suspects of confectionery, Joma jewellery and Jellycat were great performers for gifting. Choccy, jewellery, cuddly toys – what’s not to love!”
Donna Stocks, The Beverley Card Company, Beverley
“Valentine’s was a little disappointing this year for me. We sold more Wife cards than previous years while Fiancé and Girlfriend were our least popular cards.
“We were really impressed by the Wendy Jones-Blackett new range of handmade cards as these can now double up as birthday now Valentine’s has gone.
“Gifts were slow with the Carte Blanche range being the least favourite but I suspect this is due to it being readily available in every nearby Tesco store and chain stores! We didn’t sell any cushions this year. Roll on Mother’s Day and Easter now for us independents!”
Michelle Kingscott, Card Shack, Bristol
“Love was definitely in the air at Card Shack! The shop was very busy and the customers enjoyed our hand-picked selection of Valentine’s Day cards and our small selection of locally-made gifts and flowers.
“February 2024 was a busier time than February 2025, because Mother’s Day fell right on top of Valentine’s Day last year so, with both seasons being on display at the same time, our customers were able to purchase both seasons in one visit. However, with Mother’s Day being six weeks away now, we have more time to see the season in for 2025. With this in mind, our footfall and sales are due to be higher this year across both seasons.
“Our bestselling cards were Studio Boketto’s ‘You make miso happy’ and ‘My favourite human bean’, along with some cards that sold out early by Buddy Fernandez, so our bestsellers were humorous indeed!
“We did have a small selection of Galentine’s Day-specific cards, but this year they didn’t prove as popular. I think a lot of people bought a funny Valentine’s Day card instead!
“Our bestselling gift for Valentine’s each and every year is our hand-tied bouquets of roses. We put in a lot of hard work over Valentine’s to bring in the freshest roses, make them look beautiful and create some stunning bouquets and single wrapped roses.”
Carl Dunne, Cards & Gifts, Dronfield
“This year we noticed more A4 boxed Wife cards especially Me To You designs from Carte Blanche. These were very strong and we sold out maybe two days too soon.
“For the individual loose cards, we noticed a big demand this year, which we’ve never had in the past, for Daughter on Valentine’s very strange.
“I think this year people are making more cutbacks what with the cost of living so we’re holding on to match last year‘s figures like-for-like, but we noticed more Wife cards and more general open Valentines were what was being sold.
“For gifts we took on board the brand-new Cannoli from House Of Sarunds at Spring Fair. These have gone down very, very well alongside the individual loose gourmet chocolates which are always a winner – who doesn’t like chocolate?! As per normal for the seasons with us the Custom Brand company with the personalised Cadburys Dairy Milk bars with stuff like I Love You on the wrapper. We sold an amazing quantity.”
Janet Ross-Jordan, Cards And Gift Wrap, Isle Of Lewis
“My bestselling Valentine’s cards this year were by Kate Andrew from the Eco-friendly Card Company – they’re not strictly Valentine’s cards so I don’t know if they were bought as such or as Galentines/Palentines/Valentines but I sold significantly more of these two than any others in the couple of weeks running up to the day.
“My feeling is that card sales are steady and perhaps more people are seeing Valentine’s as another opportunity to send a card and let someone know how special they are, whether friend or partner.
“I think it’s reassuring that, at a time when stamp prices have increased and all the controversy over Royal Mail deliveries and the uncertainty of our postal service, people still see the value and worth in sending cards.
“We know a handwritten card means so much to the recipient – isn’t it great that we still have a Valentine’s tradition where we stop and think of one person who means so much to us, and then let them know it!”
Paul Southgate, Cards ’N’ Things, Hellesdon
“Overall, we surpassed last year’s sales in cards and gifts. Galentine’s and Palentine’s continued to keep momentum this year with friends buying cards and making a point of celebrating the love of friendships which is so nice to see.
“That being said, we completely sold out of Wife cards this year including all the boxed cards from Carte Blanche!
“Nicely Said from Ling Design had a great sell through as did most of the publishers.
“Gnaw chocolate was a hit this year, especially its I Love You bars – we bundled three together with ribbon for a nice gift idea. Katie Loxton bags, key rings and gift-boxed Love socks went well too.
“Mind you, was it the great range of products for Valentine’s or our new pup Tommy that brought people into the shop?!”
Aga Marsden, Highworth Emporium
“Trade was much better than last year. Overall our sales were 10% up on cards but, embarrassingly, we ran out of Wife cards!
“That does means we sold loads but I just couldn’t believe it as on the last day we ran out and, obviously, the day before we didn’t have the choice whereas normally we do – so embarrassing. But people were still buying a card, they just couldn’t buy one with Wife on, and they weren’t leaving without anything because it was too late to shop around, which is good.
“For our customers, the larger the better is what sells, and the big Wife cards sold first as they always do. I have them from UKG and Ling also offer large ones. “
“Humour is definitely strong and, for the first time, we had Lucilla Lavender Valentine’s cards which did well. They’re very simple but very strong.
“On the gift side it was Jellycat, surprise, surprise. The Valentine range, which was the heart monster and a bear dressed up as a heart. And also chocolates, of course. Chocolates and cards always go together nicely.”
Nigel Williamson, House of Cards
“We were very happy with a 14% increase in total sales with our Valentine cards sales up 6% overall, and the trend of buying a captioned card for your Wife or Husband has continued and now accounts for nearly 40% of all our Valentine’s card sales.
“Other captions like From The Dog and Cat have become more popular, and there was some media coverage with regards Galentine’s Day but we haven’t found this is a thing in the Home Counties yet.
“Our bestselling cards were from Lucilla Lavender and a Wife card from Emotional Rescue. Other top selling cards came from Wendy Jones-Blackett, Louise Mulgrew, Paper Shed and Dandelion Stationery.
“With the popularity of Jellycat still rising we’ve found the seasonal lines that we’ve purchased are in high demand and we sold 90% of our Valentine lines. Chocolates are always good and the Happy Valentine Toblerone bar is popular as is the Guylian four hearts box.”
Caroline Ranwell, Hugs & Kisses, Tettenhall
“Love was most definitely in the air, although our Valentine’s trade was late as always – our customers were still buying cards the day after. On Saturday, we sold at least six!
“Sales were slightly up on last year which is great, that was due to much higher sales on Valentine’s Day itself. We sell a real mix of cards and, for us, humour sells well but our hand-finished cards sell the best.
“Our best selling cards this year were Wendy Jones-Blackett, Five Dollar Shake, Cinnamon Aitch and White Cotton closely followed by Rosie Made A Thing and Ling Design. We sold a huge amount of Husband and Wife cards too and even some From The Dog.
“Galentine’s doesn’t really sell for us, we had a few designs but didn’t sell many at all. I think maybe the ladies just send their friends just a general happy Valentine’s Day card.
“Our delicious luxury Belgian chocolates always sell like crazy at Valentine’s Day but in giftware this year’s winner for us has to be Belly Button Designs. They had a really lovely and varied range of gifts, also offering matching gift bags, which all sold really well. These included fragrances, candles, mugs, jugs, glass mugs, sentiment tokens, notebooks, pens, glass water bottles and even little matching packs of nail files – just lovely.
“Rosie Made A Thing’s new mug ‘I bloody love you’ also sold really well.”
Chris Beards, Mantons Cards, Port Erin
“We had our best-yet Valentines’ this year, selling out of nearly all our cards and gifts.
“Being known as the Isle Of Man’s leading greeting card shop really helped as so many men came in that told us we’d been recommended to them for their loved ones cards.
“We didn’t stock any Galentine’s Cards and didn’t get asked for any.”
Sarah Laker, Stationery Supplies, Marple & Wilmslow
“Steven McFee from Running With Scissors designed a Valentine’s card with highlighters on after seeing the love for highlighters on my social media. He turned it round almost overnight to have the card ready for both me, Valentine’s Day and Top Drawer.
“The Valentine’s limited edition Beary In Love pens and Kawaii pencil cases sold well for us – strong sales, with one of my shops up 30%!
It was great to hear people chuckling over their card selection, as humour was the clear winner especially the range by Running With Scissors. My favourite was ‘You tickle my pickle’ – which I paired with a jar of Branston’s for Mr Stationery Supplies!”
Stephen added: “It came about when I saw Sarah posted on LinkedIn about highlighters and got loads of engagement. Seeing how popular the post was I jokingly said ‘I should make a card’ and then later thought ‘why not!’.
“It was only a few days before Top Drawer but I managed to get a mock up together and Sarah loved it and ordered it immediately!
“Other customers loved it and I made an everyday version too which is proving popular – a good lesson for me about where inspiration can come from! “
Shannon Fisher, buyer of Postmark
“We were pleased with our Valentine’s sales, being up 8% like-for-like on revenue, with 26% of the sales coming on the 13th.
“That was a crazy day especially as it was a Thursday and, for a lot of people, the last day in the office with the school half-term coming up.”
“Humour was a popular category and performed well in sales and sell-through.”
Andrea Pinder, owner of Presentation, Barrowford
“Love is definitely in the air at Presentation, our sales were up 13% on last year.
“Stand-out publishers for us were Five Dollar Shake across the board for their Crystals, Sparkles and Flitter classics; Wendy Jones-Blackett’s Up Up & Away range along with the beautiful Rainbow Drops sold out; Heart Designs for their diamanté icons and sentiment; and UKG large cards for beautiful sentiment and words.
“Humour cards haven’t sold too well for this occasion, however the Rosie Made A Thing designs did sell along with their mugs, coasters, tea towels and aprons.
“We found most couples had set a budget, and the best gift sellers were chocolates from our Chocolatier Counter, while candles, diffusers and sentiment gifts did well.
“Galentine’s is becoming more popular with the younger generation, where some were celebrating and partying together.
“I’ll definitely be looking at ordering more bespoke larger cards for 2026.”
Victoria Nicholson, co-owner of Wishes, Cockermouth
“Love was in the air in Cockermouth! Our sales matched last year which I’m pleased with but, notably Valentine’s Day, itself had higher sales than last year.
“What we all noticed the most was that something was definitely in the air as, although we were busy, we had such a calm, lovely few days. Our customers were a joy – whether we were helping mums find cards for their 16-year-old sons to give to their girlfriend, helping chaps find the correct spelling of fiancée or pointing out where the From The Dog cards were!
“Cards by Ling and Words ’N’ Wishes sold particularly well, and humorous cards by Emotional Rescue/Paper Salad were also big hits – humour was definitely more sought after this year.
“Despite increasing stock again this year, next year we again need more Husband and Wife titles, unbelievably come closing time on 14 February we only had two single Wife cards left.
“There is definitely a shift in sales to less open and more captioned. We had to reorder Carte Blanche Me To You Mummy and Daddy cards, and completely sold out of UKG’s Boofle Special Boy and Special Girl cards.
“Please for next year will a publisher do Grandson and Granddaughter!”
