Like sunglasses or swimsuits, this is one of the must-have items for summer.
In this month of August, the postcard is displayed in front of souvenir shops.
But for how long?
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If it is still part of the tourist landscape, it is gradually fading from the habits of the French.
“Ask around who has received or sent postcards over the past year and you will see that it has gone out of fashion,”
notes the founder of the Postcard Museum in Antibes Christian Deflandre, estimating that only
“seniors "
still use it regularly.
A disenchantment observed since the beginning of the 2000s with the development of cell phones.
"In addition to technological developments, people are leaving more for short stays where they take less to write to their relatives"
, analyzes the director of the Cart'Image printer Sébastien Chaumont based in Salinhac, in the Dordogne.
Above all, sending a postcard is getting more and more expensive. The price of a postcard is around 0.50 euro, while the postage stamp is now worth more than double at 1.28 euro. A price which has tripled since the end of the 1990s. With a direct impact on sales.
“Since 2000, our postcard business has plummeted. It represented more than 60% of our turnover, whereas today it is less than 10% ”
, explains Sébastien Chaumont of Cart'Image.
For 4-5 years, sales have remained low but have stabilized ”.
The market now represents 36 million euros, 80% of which is carried out over the summer period. The pandemic has hit this already fragile sector head-on.
"The market has been very affected by the absence of tourists in 2020 and we do not expect it to rebound this year,"
recalls the boss of cardmaking specialist Draeger, Olivier Draeger.
“Sales were halved
,
”
observes Sébastien Chaumont of Cart'Image.
Upmarket
Faced with the lasting decline in sales volumes, professionals still manage to partially preserve their income.
“We went upmarket on tourist postcards, for example by using pictures from professional photographers,”
recalls Olivier Draeger
.
Another profitable recipe is the diversification towards end-of-year and birthday greeting cards.
A market of 240 million euros, eight times more than postcards, which has been consolidated by the pandemic by pushing people to write their wishes despite the distance.
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But is the postcard really doomed to disappear?
"It will not disappear completely but we will sell billions more"
, judges Sébastien Chaumont.
“It keeps a status apart,
points out Olivier Draeger.
It is a mark of attention which retains a particular value. "