E-greetings trump traditional Eid cards

With cellular phone companies coming up with attractive new packages announcing lower-than-ever rates to customers, and the internet no longer a facility confined to a desktop, the culture of e-cards has rapidly grown, eclipsing the business of traditional Eid cards, a Pakistan Today survey has found.
Stalls of traditional Eid cards at Aabpara and Melody Market in G/6, Super Market (F/6), Jinnah Super Market (F/7), F/10, F/11, G/10, G/11 Markaz and Karachi Company (G/9) are void of customers. Options of SMSs, voice messages, and animated e-cards are cheaper and more attractive than traditional greeting cards. Since electronic means of communication are extremely convenient, people don’t feel inclined anymore to visit markets to choose Eid cards and then send them through post offices that charge Rs 4 for delivery of a 40-gram card in Pakistan, when an international SMS costs less than Rs 2.
Traditional card-sellers have opted not to place big orders with printing companies, marking a slump in a business that has been thriving for years. A few years back, Eid card stalls used to be flooded with customers. “The sale of Eid cards has been decreasing over time. This year it has touched rock-bottom,” said Hamza Khan, a stallholder at F/10 Markaz.
“It seems that people prefer modern means of communication over posting cards,” he said, adding he would not set up a stall next year. He said 25 to 30 companies used to be involved in this business in the recent past, but this year, their number had fallen to a mere eight to 10. “A remarkable difference has been noted in the last five years. We used to buy cards worth Rs 250,000 in yesteryears, but this time we invested only Rs 40,000,” said Kashif Pervaiz, a bookstore owner.
Besides internet, Kashif blamed inflation for the decline in his business, as the cost of getting cards printed was high and the business was not profitable anymore, as people would rather not buy expensive cards with other, more convenient options available to them. Other stallholders echoed the same view. Moreover, printing companies are now more inclined to printing cards for corporate firms, government offices and political parties only.
In the market, cards bear the same old prints of roses, oceans and Eid Mubarak signs in Urdu, English and Punjabi. Handmade and musical cards are also available at various outlets, while students of fine arts are also producing innovative pieces.
Nudrat Aftab, a fine arts student, said inflation had taken its toll. When people could not afford to buy flour, sugar, cooking oil, rice and other basic commodities, greeting cards did not feature too high on the priority list, she said. “A fine-quality card costs around Rs 50 or even more. Customers like me don’t want to spend Rs 50 or more on a single card, while we can get more attractive cards online for free,” she said.
Wholesalers said cards for teachers were in popular demand. Cards with pictures of Harry Potter, Spiderman, Barbie Doll and Poke`mon, and other characters are also equally popular with schoolchildren.
Samina Shakil, an old card-lover, said people like her loved traditional Eid cards, which were still effective in rural areas. “The messages printed on greeting cards are poetic and comforting. Eid cards will never die out because they are personalised and can refresh people’s memory in a much better way than a generic email or SMS,” she said.