Released on: December 19, 2009, 3:28 am
Author: uSwitch.com
Industry: Consumer Services

New research out from uSwitch.com reveals that 15% of consumers are cutting back on Christmas cards this year as a result of earlier postal strikes. Even though pre-Christmas strikes have now been postponed until the New Year, the move came too late to prevent consumer confidence from nose diving, showing how quickly damage can be done.

The uncertainty has made consumers re-think their card-sending habits. As a result just over one in ten (15%) have decided to shorten the list of people they send cards to, cut back on the amount of money they spend on cards and stamps or to just stick with cards that can be hand-delivered. Whether their custom can be won back again next year remains to be seen.

However, there is still a strong sense of tradition around the act of sending cards. Even with the prospect of strikes, 58% of people were still going to take their chances with the post while a further 21% believe that sending cards is an essential part of their Christmas festivities.

While email and texting is seen as a suitable alternative to sending letters, especially in the business world, it’s not seen as such an acceptable alternative when it comes to sending seasonal greetings. Less than a third of consumers (32%) think e-cards are OK and only 5% of these think they are better than paper cards – hardly a ringing endorsement.

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