Cybercards squeezing out Christmas cards?

November 1, 2005

A British company predicts that digital Christmas greetings sent by mobile phone will soon render traditional Christmas cards obsolete.

Stampster declared Tuesday that a survey by YouGov found that 56 percent of Britons send out holiday greetings over their cell phones compared to just 30 percent in 2002, and the trend is expected to gain further momentum this year.

"Traditional cards are associated with the older generation, while younger people prefer the fun and immediacy of making their own Christmas greeting," declared Stampster co-founder Dom Conlon. "After over 150 years of sending cards by post, Christmas greetings are starting to move with the times."

Stampster said that along with the minimal effort required and the immediate gratification for on-the-go wireless users, the cost of sending greetings that include a customized photograph is becoming less than the cost of sending out cards the old fashioned way.

It was not clear, however, if the higher number of digital greetings created a corresponding decline in the number of hardcopy cards being sent out in the United Kingdom.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International


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