'Cardless' Christmas - dealers in Ho blame social media

Owners of gift shops and dealers in Christmas and seasonal cards are blaming social media for recording a drop in sales this year.

Shop attendants in some shops visited by the Ghana News Agency were mostly idle at the time of the visit and confirmed that business had been very slow during the Christmas.

At Azumah Book and Gift Shop in Ho, the salesgirl, who sought anonymity, said sales in previous years were better than this season.

She said they took stock of 500 cards early December for the Christmas season but sold only 50, a few days before the end of the festive occasion.

The salesgirl said a few years back, they took stock of more than a thousand cards and they “sold like hot cakes” during the festive season.

At the “Above Limit Ventures” gift shop, the salesperson said customers had picked up only ten cards during the Christmas.

Salespersons at the Dentse Enterprise and Business Centre said they sold only 65 cards during this Christmas as against over 200 sold same period last year.

The Ghana News Agency visited a few public and private offices too and noted that the offices were not decorated with seasonal cards as used to be the norm in past years.

Mr Samuel Kwawukume, Managing Director, Alma Consult, said his office had not received any seasonal cards during the Christmas but got a couple of best wishes and e-cards on social media.

He said he preferred the traditional cards to the e-cards because the e-cards were often reposted and deleted after the season, unlike the traditional cards which were kept throughout the year in remembrance of the season.

The dealers have blamed social media for ‘killing’ the market for seasonal cards, with many people sending greetings and best wishes through social media.

They said social media appeared more convenient and cheaper and it is gradually collapsing the market for the cards.

Checks by the GNA reveal that users of social media do have options of customising e-cards, and even make them more appealing than the mass-produced traditional print seasonal cards.