BERHAMPUR: These days, all it takes to send or receive a greeting card, is a click on the mouse.
Gone are the days when New Year cards sold like hot cakes during this time of the year. Cheap and affordable e-greetings are fast taking over the conventional ones and this has hit the retailers hard.
Sankar Sahu, who has a retail greeting card shop at Bhapur Bazaar, said sale of Christmas and New Year cards has declined in the last one decade.
Jitendra Palo and Laxman Sahu, who own retail shops near Utkal Cinema Chowk and Kamapalli Chowk, said in the last 10 days, greeting cards worth only Rs 2,000 have been sold of their total inventory of RS 30,000.
There was a time when makeshift shops selling greeting cards for Christmas and New Year mushroomed across the city to meet the huge demand. Now the number of such outlets has gone down to around 10.
“However, internet cafes are doing a brisk business. E-cards help save people time and money,” said Tikili, who owns an internet cafe at Mayuree Chowk.
He said it has become tough for internet cafe owners to accommodate customers at their outlets.
However, some people still prefer sending compliments to their loved ones. Some enterprising youngsters have started home delivery of greeting cards and flowers across the city.