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Greeting Card Market Is On The Up Swing As Card Shoppers Turn To Specialty Retailers For More Distinctive Product Offerings

New study from Unity Marketing finds that greeting cards were the fastest growing category in the overall stationery market

Stevens, PA November 6, 2007 -- The market for greeting cards made a big comeback after four years of steadily declining sales, rising over 11 percent from 2004 to 2006. In 2006 the market for greeting cards climbed to over $10 billion. This according to the latest report on the stationery market from Unity Marketing.

"From 2000 to 2004 the sales of greeting cards were in steady decline," reports Pam Danzgier, president of Unity Marketing and author of Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience. "But in 2005 the tide started to turn as a result of a shift in consumers' shopping preferences away from mass retailers and discounters, like dollar stores, toward more specialty retailers that offered better designs, higher quality and more specialized card choices. In 2006 specialty card and gift shops regained 6 market share points. As a result, the mass merchants are holding on as market share leader by a thread," Danziger announces.

This revival of specialty retail for greeting cards comes after years of a steady drop in the number of specialty retailers in the card and gift segments. The number of gift shops dropped 21 percent from 75,0102 stores in 2002 to 59,032 shops today. Specialty card shops declined even more – 33 percent from 8,135 in 2002 to 5,391 currently.

Danziger explains, "A few years back the mass merchants, such as Wal-Mart, were the biggest, baddest competitors in the greeting card business, driving prices down and capturing the largest share of business. This resulted in a winnowing out of the weaker specialty retailers that couldn't survive the mass retailers' onslaught. But this new study shows that the tide is turning. The specialty retailers that remain are robust competitors able to attract more affluent shoppers who will pay more for the better designs and higher quality greeting cards available through these stores."

About the Greeting Card, Stationery, Gift Wrap & Party Goods, and Paper Crafting Report, 2007: The Ultimate Guide to the Stationery Market

This new report examines the $37.4 billion stationery industry. It provides the latest statistics on the growth and sales in the stationery market, including details by channel of distribution and product category, specifically:

• Greeting cards, both those sold individually and in boxed sets;
  
• Paper crafts and crafting, including scrapbooking and make-your-own cards;
  
• Social stationery, notably specialty paper for writing, computer printing;
  
• Gifting and Party Goods, such as gift wrap and bags and other gifting supplies, paper party goods;
  
• Other stationery, including calendars, date books, blank books, desk accessories, albums; and
  
• Custom-printed cards and stationery for personal use.

Based upon both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, the study reports findings from the latest in-depth survey of 1,205 recent stationery buyers (65 percent female/35 percent male; average age 41.9 years; average household income $63,600) and compares it with the results of a similar survey conducted in 2005.

With a focus on consumers, their buying behavior, needs, desires and preferences, this research study includes research data and statistics about:

• Stationery Goods Market Size and Growth: What is the size of the overall stationery goods market, as well as the six key product segments (e.g. greeting cards, social stationery, custom-printed cards and stationery, gift wrap and party goods, paper crafting products and other stationery products) and how rapidly is it growing? How is the stationery goods market segmented by type of product?

• Demographics of the Stationery Goods Market: What are the demographic characteristics of people who buy stationery goods products? How is stationery goods buying behavior influenced by demographic segments (e.g., gender, age, household income (HHI), size, composition, ethnicity/race, education, etc.)?

• Stationery Goods Buying Behavior: What are the primary characteristics of the consumers’ buying behavior related to stationery goods in general and the four product segments (e.g. greeting cards, social stationery, custom printed stationary and cards, gift wrap and party goods, paper crafting products and other stationery products) in particular? Why do they buy these goods and how do consumers’ motivations different by product category segment? Where do they shop for the different types of stationery products; what factors influence their decision making; how much do they spend buying each of the stationery goods product segments and across the entire stationery goods category; what is the role of brand in stationery goods product selections and shopping choices? How do different demographic segments differ in their shopping and buying behavior?

• Psychographic Profile and Segmentation of the Greeting Card Markets: A psychographic profile of the greeting card buyers is developed in this report. The profiles identify four different types or personalities of consumers of greeting card. These profiles identify different drives and motivations found among consumers in purchasing greeting cards; what factors are more or less important in driving greeting card purchasing decisions; and how can greeting card marketers and retailers better understand the hearts and minds of their consumers. In essence, we discover 'why people buy greeting cards.'

Special Features in Greeting Card, Stationery, Gift Wrap and Party Goods and Paper Crafting Report, 2007

Included in this report are:

• Brand preferences in greeting card, stationery products and retailers.
  
• Powerful guidance for retailers and marketers in pricing of different stationery products, based upon research findings of what the majority of consumers are paying today when they make their purchases.
  
• 6 Marketing Opportunities that will mean greater success for companies and retailers that develop strategies to take advantage of these emerging opportunities.
  
• 8 research-based Business Building Tactics to help stationery and greeting card marketers and retailers grow a more vibrant business.
  

For Press: Charts, tables and graphs are available upon request.

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