PHOTO: FILE
Surprisingly, however, greeting cards, Eid cards in particular, do not appear to be going the way of the dodo anytime soon. If anything, they are enjoying a somewhat moderate resurgence among the young and not so young who wish to convey their feelings in a manner warmer than cold messaging apps allow.
“I think we all miss that human connection that we felt by sending Eid cards or letters for that matter,” said Mashaell Akhter Noman, who runs the greeting card brand Ink and Joy.
“Sending e-cards may be easy, but they can’t replicate the feeling that an Eid card delivered by hand evokes,” said Heena Aurangzeb, one of the owners of 'Lifafay Aur Bulaway'.
“Technology cannot convey what something tangible can,” said Shoaib Javed, who runs the event management company Hexa Blue Events. “Giving Eidi and Eid cards have been part of our Eid customs for too long. The joy of receiving a handpicked handwritten card is unmatched. So sales of cards are definitely picking up again.”
Rehab Zia, who makes and sells greeting cards under her own name agreed. “I do believe greeting cards are coming back for good,” she said.
So who is responsible for this resurgence in demand for greeting cards? According to answers from all four of them, the average customer tends to be in their 20s or 30s.
“Most of my customers are in their 20s or 30s. Some of them are elderly as well,” said Mashaell. “But I haven’t seen many teens pick up Eid cards. They don’t seem to be into it still.”
Rehab appeared to have a similar customer base. “My customers are mostly millienials I’d say…. they range from 19 to 32,” she said. “Sadly youngsters who have grown up in the internet age are not interested. They prefer the ease of sending a text instantly.”
“Youngsters who do visit our shop are usually led there by their elders,” admitted Shoaib. “Teens probably feel cards are a waste of money and a text or an e-card is easier to drop. Most of our customers are 30-plus.”
He had an interesting anecdote to share. “I saw this mid-30s man buying Eid cards in bulk one time and I wondered if he was a re-seller. When I asked, he told me that he gets these cards for all his friends and family, and gets great pleasure from seeing their faces light up upon receiving them. He told me that he knew they keep his cards safe and remember him upon re-reading them whenever they take them out to clean their drawers and closets.”
Heena, however, said she has had customers of all ages purchase cards from Lifafay and Bulaway due to their business model. “Millenials are prone to impulse buying and like everything they want to be just a click away. This is why we market our cards solely through social media.”
Asked what sort of cards sell well these days, Shoaib was of the opinion that customisability is key. “Ever since we entered this business, we noted that people want their cards designed in a bespoke manner for their loved ones,” he said.
Rehab, when asked the same, emphasised simplicity. “To sell well, card designs must not seem overdone. We have the motto less is more,” she said.
Although Rehab admitted that that demand for cards is not what it once was, she said it is now rising year by year again. “It definitely is an exciting thing. For me, nothing compares to the feeling of reading a card from someone else or writing one to someone else. So I want to contribute to this revival… slowly but surely.”
Still, some people do not see the situation as optimistically as Mashaell, Heena, Shoaib and Rehab. A shopkeeper who sells cards in Islamabad said the number of cards he moves seems to be on a downward trend. Some passersby that The Express Tribune spoke to outside his shop were more blunt, saying the time of greeting cards has passed.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2019.
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