The Greeting Card Association today warmly welcomed Ofcom’s announcement that it plans to consult on extending the price cap on second class mail for another year to 31 March 2028.
Reacting to the news, David Falkner, CEO-elect of the GCA said:
“This is a welcome step by Ofcom that recognises the significant cost pressures on consumers and small businesses as the government focuses on measures to address the impact of cost-of-living challenges for families.
“Like Ofcom, we also acknowledge Royal Mail’s hard work implementing a new delivery model to drive standards and support their call for more progress.
“Our members are keen for them to succeed.
“They depend on a reliable and affordable service, and they acutely understand the importance of restoring the service back to the standards required by Ofcom.
“They are in no doubt that Royal Mail needs to fulfil its promise to get its service back on track before there’s any further consideration of changes to the USO, be that service cuts, further relaxation of pricing controls or weakening of delivery targets.
“Our position has always been that it would be premature and risky for Ofcom to introduce more pricing and service freedoms, before Royal Mail have had the opportunity to show they can use the reforms they’ve already been given, to make the service better.
“That’s why we fully welcome today’s announcement – if implemented, it will give peace of mind to families and small businesses alike.
“What’s more this position of certainty for Royal Mail will be a great confidence boost for all our members and retailers who rely on an affordable postal service especially as we approach the busy Christmas period and the peak in card sending.”
About the Greeting Card Association
- The Greeting Card Association (GCA) is an independent, not-for-profit trade organisation operating for the benefit of its members and has been the voice of the greeting card industry, providing support to its members since 1919.
- The GCA embraces over 500 publishers, retailers, agents, distributors and recommended suppliers of materials and services and is the voice of the British greeting card industry, representing the industry to stakeholders such as postal service providers, government, colleges and schools.
- Greeting cards themselves are part of a world-leading British creative industry worth over £1.5bn to the UK economy, at the forefront of innovative design and delivering important export revenue to the UK.
- Consumers in the UK, spent over £1.5 billion on single greeting cards in 2025, excluding packs and boxes of cards and the British send more cards per person than any other nation.
- Greeting cards build relationships. Sending and receiving a greeting card creates a strong connection and the GCA’s members facilitates and celebrates positive communication between people of all backgrounds.
- The GCA’s purpose is to ensure the wellbeing of the greeting card industry and to promote the absolute joy of sending and receiving a well-chosen card. Its mission is to passionately support the growth and promotion of the greeting card industry, and its vision is for everyone to feel connected by the sending and receiving of greeting cards.
