Don’t jinx it, but there are indications that early Christmas card sales are off to a pretty strong start.
Lisa Rutherford, John Lewis’ card buyer confirmed that the department store chain had “sold over 1,000 individual Christmas cards” by the third week in September.
The retailer, known for its Christmas selection, did receive some high profile PR, with footage of its ‘Christmas shop’ appearing on ITV’s This Morning programme last week.
Christmas cards are displayed in three areas of the shop, in the card department, the dedicated Christmas shop area, plus within its new ‘Find Keep Give’ curated collection.
Paperchase too is feeling positive about its early Christmas card sales.
Joe Irons, Paperchase’s chief customer officer said its Christmas sales were “off to a little flier” and that “Christmas cards” was the number one search term on its website and people “were not just looking, they were buying too.”
While some indies have elected to hold back from putting their Christmas stock out until next month, others are going for it now.
Sharing the experiences in her two shops, in Wells and Chipping Sodbury, Kristan Miller, owner of Cadeaux & Co told PG Buzz: “Our Christmas card packs went out in the first week of September and they are selling fast. (There is a certain irony that those customers who moan about the cards being out so early are the first to buy!) Gifts and decorations are all arriving as we speak and will go out immediately. Generally speaking, our customers are accepting of Christmas going out early – they appreciate that we have to follow the lead of everyone else, in order to maximise sales!”
Top: Emerald is one of the key trends this Christmas as predicted by John Lewis.
