The future of greeting cards seems strong, with card sales for one company alone reaching nearly $4 billion last year. However, two very recent developments may affect the future of the greeting card industry tremendously—perhaps adversely.
The first is the software available that allows consumers to create their own greeting cards (with the assistance of easy-to-use programs) using a personal computer and a color printer. Some card manufacturers created this software for sale; so, they see profits when the software is purchased, but it may reduce sales of store-bought greeting cards. The second development is that anyone with Internet connections may send a free cyber greeting card sent via e-mail. These greeting cards may be obtained through any one of dozens of websites, require no postage stamp, and may be sent in an instant. In addition, many such cyber greeting cards feature sound, music, and animation. Even the large card companies offer such greeting cards and they are often free-of-charge. It remains to be seen whether the new cyber greeting card will affect over-the-counter sales of paper[paper?:paper sample maker cutting machine] greeting cards.
