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SCRAPBOOKING STILL SHOWING STRONG GROWTH
New study pegs market at $1.2 billion.
by Mike Hartnett (July, 2003)
A new study, Stationery & Greeting Card Report, 2003: The
Market, The Competitors, The Future Trends, says scrapbooking
grew 29% in 2002 and is the fastest growing segment in the
stationery market.
The President of Unity Marketing and author of the study, Pam
Danziger discussed the study during her featured role as a Retail
Summit speaker at the just completed ACCI show. The study is
interesting because it was conducted by a company outside the
scrapbook industry -- with no ax to grind -- and looks at our market
from a stationery point of view.
Danziger reports that greeting card purchases are up but the dollar
volume is down. "This industry has been negatively impacted by
rampant discounting and deflationary pressures as mass merchants and
discounters now capture 24% share of the market with discount and
off-priced cards and stationery items."
So who's the star of the stationery industry these days?
Scrapbooking. Here are excerpts from the study's summary:
1. "Scrapbooking is an important new consumer passion
that is just emerging on the horizon. With a sales jump of 29% in
2002, scrapbooking is the fastest growing segment in the stationery
market with $1.2 billion in consumer sales."
2. "Despite vibrant growth, the scrapbooking market has
only begun to hint at its full potential. Today only 20% of adult
consumers have purchased scrapbooking supplies in the past year,
trailing behind the 67% of consumers who bought greeting cards; 61%
who bought gift bags and wraps; 44% who bought calendars; and 37%
who bought boxed greetings, notes and invitations."
3. "While purchase incidence remains narrow, stationery
consumers spend the most annually on their scrapbooking hobby, an
average of $54, as compared with $38 on greeting cards and $34 on
boxed greetings. Scrapbooking is also the stationery category where
the highest percentage of consumers, 44%, report they spent more in
the past year, as compared with 24% of greeting card
consumers."
4. "Scrapbooking is a hobby that uniquely fits our
stressful post 9-11 era. It creatively connects families with their
past, present and future. Its appeal crosses generations, genders,
and age ranges. Key to the future success of the scrapbooking market
will be its ability to make the quantum leap from the niche-focused
craft market into the mass-market realm. The Michaels craft chain
just opened the first of a chain of stores devoted to scrapbooking,
called ReCollections. This launch may broaden exposure beyond
the traditional crafting market and bring scrapbooking into the main
stream where it will really blossom."
5. "Our survey of some 50 stationery companies
identified a huge missed opportunity in the marketplace. Consumers
say scrapbooking is the hottest category in the stationery market
today, yet under 10% of the stationery companies surveyed offer
products to this growing market. Stationery companies need to
venture beyond their comfort zone of greeting cards and traditional
stationery products to capture some of the dynamic growth and market
potential available in the scrapbooking trend."
Danziger is also the author of Why People Buy Things They Don't
Need (Ithaca, NY: Paramount Market Publishing, 2002). For more
information about the study, visit www.unitymarketingonline.com.
xxx
