Greeting cards give the gift of music, voices this season

Gen Y and Millennial consumers may be big communicators, but they aren’t substituting tweeting and texting for more traditional card-sending opportunities.

“Younger consumers see a real value in sending and receiving cards because they recognize the effort and thoughtfulness that goes into it,” said Christy Kaprosy, executive director of business intelligence at American Greetings.

Even the growth of e-cards hasn’t led consumers to abandon paper cards. “While e-cards have become more popular, they haven’t had an impact on sales of traditional cards,” said Barbara Miller, a spokeswoman for the Greeting Card Association. “People rarely substitute one for another.”

Miller said new technology, such as audio cards and LED light cards, have brought excitement to the category and have proved that consumers are willing to pay more for products that offer a point of difference, even in a tight economy. “People are willing to move to the higher end if it’s something special,” she said.

“Some of the most popular innovations in 2009 included multibutton sound cards, multisensory pop-up greetings, cards that talk, music and sound envelopes, animated greetings and new formats for recordable greetings that expand personalization even further,” said Steve Laserson, VP greeting cards at AG. AG will introduce more innovation beginning on Valentine’s Day with a focus on providing an even more customized and personalized greeting—something that is important to younger customers.