Busy Shoppers Still Take Time to Show They Care

Cleveland, Ohio (November 2007) - - A recent survey commissioned by American Greetings gives a few hints as to what the upcoming holiday season is going to look like. The results reveal many interesting retail insights including who should be expecting the most greeting cards this year, why so many cards are sent for the holidays, how many people are on the average shopper’s list and when consumers expect to have their shopping wrapped up.

Sending a card to show you care

According to the survey, conducted by TNS, a world leader in market insight and information, 69 percent of consumers plan to send cards to family, friends and acquaintances this winter holiday season. "Of those who will be sending cards this holiday season 94 percent said that they plan to send at least one individual greeting card for Christmas, making it the most popular holiday for sending greeting cards this winter."

Of those consumers who will be sending cards, 54 percent plan to send an individual card to friends this Christmas season, while 52 percent will be sending one to mom.

Overall, more than two billion holiday cards will be sent this year, according to the Greeting Card Association, making it the top card sending occasion of the year. What makes the holiday season the largest card-sending time of the year? When consumers were asked why they send holiday cards, 84 percent said to “let the recipient know you are thinking about them.”

Shopping often and shopping late

Consumers were also asked what they do to celebrate the holidays. Shopping will be keeping many consumers busy this holiday season, as more than 80 percent said that they plan to shop for presents, making it the most popular activity. In fact, 43 percent said that they expect to have six to ten people on their shopping list this year.

With all of those names, it should not be a great surprise that many consumers will be wrapping up their holiday shopping with little time to spare. 84 percent of consumers said that they would be completing their holiday shopping between the last two weeks before the Christmas holiday and December 24.

About American Greetings Corporation
American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) is one of the world's largest manufacturers of social expression products. Along with greeting cards, its product lines include gift-wrap, party goods, stationery, calendars, ornaments and electronic greetings. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings generates annual revenue of approximately $1.7 billion. For more information on the Company, visit http://corporate.americangreetings.com.

The survey was commissioned by American Greetings and conducted online by TNS between September 27 – 30, 2007. The survey polled a sample of 1,000 consumers and has a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points.