News
January 23, 2013
Americans Still Love Valentine’s Day Cards
The Greeting Card Association (GCA) anticipates more than 145 million greeting cards will be purchased for Valentine’s Day this year in the U.S. This figure is based on member company sales and does not include children’s packaged valentines for classroom exchanges.
Valentine’s Day is the second-largest holiday for giving greeting cards, after Christmas. he GCA is optimistic that Valentine’s Day card sending will be strong, as the industry experienced an upbeat Christmas card-sending season. Also, more valentines tend to be exchanged when the holiday occurs on a weekday – as it will again this year with Feb. 14 falling on a Thursday.
“As Valentine’s Day approaches, consumers will again descend on the greeting card aisle in search of the perfect expression of love or friendship – whether romantic, sweet, funny or risqué,” said GCA President Susan January, vice president of Leanin’ Tree in Boulder, Colo. “There is something for everyone when shopping for Valentine’s Day, as children, grandparents and everyone in between are selecting the cards that will be the perfect expression of love for the special people they care for most.”
For the little ones, packaged valentines featuring animated characters or singing superstars remain popular for exchanging with fellow schoolmates or neighborhood friends, while women often send Valentine’s Day cards to other women as an opportunity to “share a joke” or bemoan their romantic status on this most “love-centric” day of the year.
Popular design trends this year include humorous images; animals such as owls and cats; French motifs; handcrafted cards with attachments such as gems and bows; cards that express love without specifically saying “Happy Valentine’s Day”; and square-shaped cards – the latter perhaps a reflection of the fact that more Valentine’s Day cards are personally exchanged rather than mailed (square cards generally require additional postage).
Women who are shopping for valentines for the men in their lives will find more neutral or masculine color palettes available to them as opposed to the traditional sea of mostly red and pink. And, as has been a trend in all types of greeting cards, Valentine’s Day cards will feature more unique and engaging innovations, such as sound and motion, that make them more interactive and enhance the “keepsake factor.”
For more information, visit www.greetingcard.org.
