*********PRESS RELEASE********
Brits display their birthday cards for weeks unlike other nations
September is Britain’s biggest month for birthdays
#Cardmitment
What’s a certain giveaway that you’re in a British home?
The smell of fish and chips on a Friday night? Tea bags in the cupboard and an electric kettle on the counter? A convertible in the garage? (Yes, our summers might be invariably wet, but we’re the open-topped car capital of Europe[1].)
Well new data from the UK’s Greeting Card Association released today show it could be the mantlepiece that’s the clue.
Not only do Brits send more greeting cards than any other nation on earth, unlike other countries, we also love to put our birthday cards on the mantelpiece and leave them there for weeks.
And September is the month this really matters – according to the Office of National Statistics, September 27 is the most popular day to be born over the last two decades with eight of the top 10 dates of birth in September, with the other two in early October[2].
Overseas visitors are bemused by the sight of cards used to decorate British homes.
In fact GCA research[3] shows we tend to leave our birthday cards up for an average nine days, varying between eight days in Scotland and the north of England and ten days in Wales and Midlands.
But in the Wales and Midlands, one in ten of us will leave them up for a month and overall, 15 per cent of the population across the UK will leave them up for 15 days or more.
And no wonder people like to show off their cards – receiving a card makes people feel loved and appreciated.
In fact the British greeting card creative industry is worth £1.5bn to the UK economy – around the same size as the quintessentially British tea market[4].
The GCA, which is proud to represent over 500 local high street card retailers, publishers and producers, through its #Cardmitment campaign is finding new ways to encourage Brits to make a commitment to the wellbeing and mental health benefits of sending and exchanging cards.
Not only do we Brits love to send cards, we love putting them on show to continue enjoying them and even keep the really special ones tucked away.
Cards nurture local independent businesses on the high streets we all love, support local charities and organisations in the communities we care for and helps protect the Royal Mail delivery service we all treasure
Amanda Fergusson GCA chief executive officer .
Iconic designer and TV personality Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen understands the importance of cards and is backing the GCA’s #Cardmitment campaign.
My wife Jackie and I have always been big greeting card senders, hoovering them up when we see something beautiful or a design we think would be perfect for someone we know,
“I feel that greeting cards are a very important part of making and retaining relationships. The sending of a greeting card is not AI, it’s something real, based on real emotions, creativity and craftsmanship, and I feel privileged to be part of this.
Laurence Llewlyn-Bowen
How do you know you’re in a British home?
Based on feedback from GCA members, here are the ways you’ll know you’re in a British home
- You’ll hear us say ‘sorry’…a lot. Sorry, but that’s true. A joke about us saying sorry was even one of the most popular at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
- There’ll be incessant chatter about the weather, even though it’s probably not going to change that much
- If there’s a family crisis, there’s only one thing to do – put the kettle on because tea fixes everything
- And talking of tea, other countries will have biscuits, but you won’t find them being dunked in a cuppa.
- Using cards as part of your seasonal decorations – at Christmas, on birthdays, on engagements, on retirement. We proudly put them on show and can’t bear to take them down.
- There’s a washing machine next to the sink rather than in a separate utility room
- We love to queue – and that starts at home when waiting for kids to get out of the bathroom
- Electrical sockets with their own switches – it’s a safety feature other countries don’t have!
GCA members this week are also asking their own customers what makes their homes uniquely British.
Further information:
Contact Nick Agarwal or Andrea Ross at the GCA press office: gca@arena-pr.com
GCA Members – to generate some publicity for your business with this release you can download a template and personalise it to your business here.
[1]https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9649321/Here-comes-sun-UK-convertible-car-capital-Europe.html
[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/bulletins/birthcharacteristicsinenglandandwales/2021
[3] Research conducted by Two Ears, One Mouth, August 2023
[4] https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1270653/revenue-tea-the-united-kingdom-revenue