I can remember the days when my mother would spend hours every Christmas writing and sending out a mountain of cards. Just about everyone she had ever met would receive a card and most people would send one in return.
Our house would be taken over by Christmas cards in those days but things are really different now. Many people don’t bother anymore and it is not difficult to see why.
Communication
With most people now in constant communication with each other via Facebook, Twitter, email and text messaging, cards are no longer a useful way of keeping in touch and reminding others that you are thinking of them. These days you can message all of your contacts every day and as many of them at once as you wish.
No wonder the drawn out process of writing cards has been shelved by many in favour of a Facebook status! People lead busy lives and are looking for ways to save time. I have lost count of the number of hours I have spent staring blankly at an array of cards in a shop trying to find one with just the right image and message.
The Environment
Cards are also falling victim to the increasing concerns over the environment and our use of natural resources. Although cards can be recycled many people are aiming for paperless lifestyles and have rejected traditional cards in favour of the electronic variety. These have the advantage of pretty much saying whatever you want and you can send thousands of messages in just a few seconds.The High Street
Many high street card retailers have struggled to survive in recent times and I think this is a trend that will continue. Cards can be pretty expensive for what they are and postage costs are prohibitive. Despite the impressive rebranding and new product ranges in the stores they generally seem to be quiet places these days and must all be fearing for their futures.Online
Online card suppliers are prospering however. The likes of Moonpig offer the facility to highly personalise your purchase and even have it delivered for you. I recently received an absolutely classic card from a friend which he had created online. It was a brilliant piece of humour tailored specifically to me and, unlike the vast majority of cards I have been given over the years, I am going to keep that one!The Future
My wonderful card does illustrate that there is still a place for greetings cards in our lives. At the end of the day they are more tangible than a message online and now they can be so personalised that they are almost like receiving a gift. A fabulous array of designs are now out there too which makes finding the perfect card much easier and in my experience children still love opening their cards and displaying them on their birthdays.There is certainly something more special about opening a cute Olive and Moss card than getting a text message!, especially if there is money in it! Perhaps cards will survive but I don’t think we will be sending out so many of them as in the past.
People are moving away from sending large numbers of cards towards buying fewer but more personalised pieces for special people only. Everyone else is going to get an email or a Facebook post to read!
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Very nice and interesting article, thanks for sharing.
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