Bulk Birthday Cards All Over the World
It may come as a surprise to learn that the greeting card industry is a billion dollar, worldwide affair. In fact, in America alone, over 7 billion cards are sold every year, coming out to about 30 cards per person on average. The United Kingdom beats that average at an incredible 55 card average per person, per year. However, the real surprise here is that greeting card sales are remaining steady, even with the revolution of e-cards. E-cards, or electronic cards, are digital media cards that can be sent to recipients via email or social networking sites.
These cards are popular among many people, because they can be personalized and sent within minutes if needed. However, despite the distinct advantages of e-cards, most individuals prefer to purchase physical cards for birthdays, anniversaries and more, as is shown by the statistics mentioned above. While the average person may scoff at the idea of purchasing bulk birthday cards, The Greeting Card Association, or GCA, estimates that nearly 60% of the everyday greeting cards sold are birthday cards, with the remaining percentage being split almost equally between anniversary, get well, friendship and sympathy cards. However, among holiday themed cards, 60% of sales are attributed to the Christmas holiday, with 25% going to Valentine’s Day, and the remaining percentages being divided between Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Easter.
In light of these sensory data, it can be assumed that bulk birthday cards are an excellent solution for many people. The e-card industry and its affect on traditional greeting cards and bulk birthday cards is reminiscent of the invention of the e-book and its affect on the publishing industry. Although the idea for e-books had been around since the inception of Project Gutenburg in 1971, e-books did not begin gaining in popularity until the invention of the internet in the 1990s. This made e-book proliferation much easier and was e-books were therefore more accessible to the general public.
However, despite the fear in the publishing industry that e-books would soon replace regular hardback or paperback books, these book sales have remained steady, always increasing sales of e-books by a very wide margin. However, e-book sales are on the rise, and as e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes and Noble Nook, and even smart phone devices continue to gain in popularity, e-books can be expected to become a more common form of reading. This debate is also continued in the digital music vs. hard copy music debate.
With the invention of the MP3 as a way to digitally compress music in a small file size, music industry experts began to realize both the potential and the dangers of this innovation. For example, now that digital files were available, they could accompany the hard copy CDs that someone purchased, allowing them to copy the files to their computer in case their CD was lost or damaged. However, the MP3 also meant the invention of music sharing sites like Napster and Limewire, which allowed people to download music illegally. However, legislation has now been passed with makes this process illegal, thus allowing the music industry to continue growth in the digital sphere without losing funds. Much like e-books, e-cards have only taken away a marginal percentage of regular bulk birthday cards sales.
This has been proven by an attempt by the United States Postal Service, or USPS, to revamp their profits by selling a selection greeting cards and envelopes in their service locations. As the economy took a downward turn, government agencies like the USPS have taken a hard hit as well, with the agency posting consistent profit losses for several quarters in a row. However, the USPS has attempted to revitalize itself by offering more online services, increasing the amount of self-serve postage machines and offering products for sale in store, like greeting cards, packaging tape, colorful boxes to send packages and more.