Stamp pricing may have led to over 50’s sending less Christmas cards

The price of a first and second class stamp rose by 14 pence each in the UK in 2012

00:00 25 December 2012

A report released before Christmas claimed that people over the age of 50 would send fewer Christmas cards to their loved ones in 2012. The study, carried out by Saga, claimed that 50per cent of Brits would be feeling the pinch as the Royal Mail increased its stamp prices.

The price of a 1st class stamp rose from 46pence to 60pence in 2012, with a 2nd class stamp costing 50pence instead of 36pence.

As referred to in a report by The Telegraph, the amount of Christmas cards the average person aged 50 plus sent via the postal service in 2011 was 38 cards. The number of Christmas cards expected to have been sent in 2012 was 28 - a decrease of 10 cards per person.

It is thought by some, that people in the age bracket of 50-years-old and above are more likely to stick to the tradition of sending Christmas cards via the postal service than others.

Sending Christmas cards is one way that people young and old can keep in contact with their loved ones at the festive time of year.

Not all people are expected to use computers and mobile phones to communicate with their friends and families, and so through bodies such as the Royal Mail people can send Christmas and New Year wishes in the form of a letter or card.

It is understood that in 2012 the Royal Mail looked at allowing certain people to buy a maximum of 36 stamps at the old price.

Based on Saga’s findings, the Royal Mail has said it carried out its own research and was not expecting to see a drop in the number of Christmas cards being sent, as mentioned in a report by the Mail Online.