It used to be the ultimate boast to send postcards during one of your overseas holidays with the inscription “wish you were here too!” With the rising popularity of social networking, e-cards and SMS messaging, it seems postcards and holiday greeting cards are now dying a slow death according to research done by Mintel.
Mintel research reveals 40 years ago, 1/3 of Britons would pen a card compared to today wherein only 3% would do so. The rest would send an SMS message, upload photos on Facebook or tweet an update about their holiday vacation.
Researcher, Alexandra Richmond, said that younger generations will never experience the joy of receiving a postcard or Christmas greeting card in today’s age of social media. Due to technological advances today, we send more SMS messages, send emails and send photographs through mobile devices to share our holiday experiences with family and friends.
It is now possible to make friends envious by posting holiday pictures on Facebook which provide real time updates as opposed to waiting weeks for postcards to arrive at your recipient’s address back home. The study also reveals a decline in purchases of writing sets from 18% in 1972 down to 5% today.
As someone who regularly uses printable coupons or Printapons I think that the show Extreme couponing was not a true reading of how the regular shopper uses coupons. It appears to have been frightening to someone who does not use coupons at all