Paper cards’ future strong

Experts said that despite competition from electronic cards and rising postal fees, there still is a future for the paper greeting card category. Sean O’Malley, an analyst for Wedge Capital, estimated the industry saw 1% unit volume growth last year. He estimated 2011 greeting card sales were $2.5 billion to $3 billion. Nearly 80% of category sales are driven by women ages 30 to 50 years whose “habits die hard,” according to O’Malley. Premium cards and value cards are performing best.