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cardsharp
Ring A Ding Ding!
Will Those Tills Ring? What is Christmas going to be like this year? This is the $64 million question Cardsharp is being constantly asked right now. Actually, it’s more than that - nearer a $640 million question as that’s roughly what Christmas sales are normally worth at retail in the UK. Far left: Will the Christmas bells and tills be ringing? Left: Still hard to predict who will be the winners in the shopper’s Christmas basket.
No one really knows how Christmas 2021 is going to pan out trade wise. Never has the final result been so hard to predict. Last year, Cardsharp recalls, we were all hoping for a cracker, only to have the momentum broken by the lockdown of nearly all the retail economy in November. Yet despite that, the late rush in December, and quite possibly the prohibition of family gatherings at Christmas, meaning some people sent more cards, 2020 was not all that bad. In fact, it could have been a lot worse and there were no major post-Christmas failures, other than Paperchase’s pre-pack which had looked on the cards even before Christmas. And certainly, the government’s financial support for the retail sector during
2020 did make the situation a lot better for many than it could have been. This year, the situation is just as uncertain, but for different reasons. Talking to many retailers, Cardsharp has heard that footfall generally is back to approximately 80% of pre-Covid levels with per capita spend slightly up. Talk of another lockdown or even the so-called ‘Plan B’ have died down and the government is eager to quash any such suggestions. Quite frankly the government’s finances could not handle anything like that in its present state and the powers that be know the bulk of the population would not accept it. No, this Christmas, the question is not about Left: Rocketing prices and shipping container shortages are causing havoc for for suppliers, retailers and ultimately consumers.
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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
level of demand or potential lockdowns, but whether there will be enough supplies to satisfy the British public - supply and demand in the extreme. The ‘stock availability’ is key in deciding who will be the winners and losers this Christmas. We have all heard of the first world supply problems ahead - the no pigs-inblankets disaster scenario, as a starter for ten. Certainly, the rumours of shortages have got the season off to a good start with none of the complaints about Christmas displays going out to early. Quite the opposite in fact, with a healthy bit of early panic buying, which works in our sector’s favour. But, reflects Cardsharp, there is a very apt saying. “It’s only when the tide goes out, you see who is not wearing swimming trunks”. At the moment we do not know, who, if any, are going to be naked in several weeks’