Jan 21, 2013

Americans Still in Love with 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.

The 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 February 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,” states GCA President Susan January, v.p. of Leanin’ Tree in Boulder, CO. “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.”

Valentine greetings have been exchanged since the Middle Ages in Europe. In 1850, Esther Howland, an American printer and artist, was among the first to publish and sell Valentine’s Day cards in the U.S. Exchanging valentines has since become a deep-seated part of our American culture.

About the Greeting Card Association
The Greeting Card Association, headquartered in White Plains, NY, is the U.S. trade association of the greeting card industry. Established in 1941, the GCA represents greeting card and stationery publishers, as well as suppliers to the industry. The GCA is managed by George Little Management, LLC, owner and manager of the annual National Stationery Show. For additional information, please visit www.greetingcard.org.