Spreading good tidings and drear
Holiday cards reflecting shift in national mood
NEW YORK – This season’s greeting: Try to have a happy holiday.
Glum economic tidings are reshaping the more than century-old tradition – and big business – of sending holiday cards.
Although many Americans still have the urge to mail out an address book’s worth of year-end greetings, some families are choosing cheaper cards, sending online salutations or trimming their mailing lists. Others are dispatching cards in place of presents.
The printed sentiments are shifting, too, to suit less-than-festive times. American Greetings Corp., the nation’s second-largest card maker, is offering “longer, more heartfelt” messages, while at least one entrepreneur is trying to capitalize on the national mood with cards featuring messages such as “Have a Great Depression and a Subprime New Year.”
But some suppliers say business-oriented card sales are up as companies seek a relatively cheap way to reach out to clients, and the industry expects 85 percent of Americans will still send some sort of card this year.
“In recessionary or difficult economic times, people tend to stick closely to the cultural traditions that mean the most to them,” said Barbara Miller, a spokeswoman for the Greeting Card Association. “Sending cards to loved ones is one of those traditions.”
Holiday cards account for about 27 percent of the 7 billion paper cards sold each year, according to the trade group that represents the vast majority of suppliers in the $7.5 billion-a-year U.S. market.
Hallmark Cards Inc., the nation’s top card company, said this week that holiday sales were strong with the busiest stretch yet to come. American Greetings, based in Cleveland, does not release sales information or estimates.
But there are signs the economy could take a toll. A Consumer Reports poll in October showed 23 percent of respondents planned to cut back on holiday cards this year.
And the U.S. Postal Service expects holiday-season mail to drop for the first time in recent memory, to about 19 billion pieces from 20 billion, spokesman Gerry Kreienkamp said.