05-12-2018
One month into the Christmas retailing period and with three weeks to the Big Day, An Post is reporting that Christmas stamp sales are running 4% ahead of last year’s figures, with Christmas stamp revenue already up 5% year-on-year.
This is the first increase in Christmas stamp sales that An Post has seen in more than 10 years.
At the busiest time of the year for stamp sales, this early success comes as the Company continues to reposition its mails business with new products and improved distribution and increased marketing activity through more post offices and a new online shop at anpost.com/Christmas.
An Post say that while it’s still relatively early in the Christmas season, the 4% sales increase so far this year contrasts strongly with previous years which have typically seen falls of 8% - 10% in sales volumes.
According to Fiona Heffernan, Commercial Director of Mail at An Post:
“We’ve taken a new approach to Christmas this year, welcomed our customers’ involvement in designing stamps around their favourite Christmas traditions and we’ve added a new Elf on the Shelf product which has been selling strongly since early November.
“Our new Christmas ads features real Irish people who won’t be spending Christmas with family this year, sending personal messages to their loved ones, and reinforcing the importance of sending personal cards and parcels to family and friends near and far”, she added.
“We’ve brought energy and fun to Christmas this year underpinned by the transformation of the An Post mail business. Recent reports say overall Irish consumer spend will be up 3% this Christmas so we’re delighted that stamp sales are outpacing this, with three weeks still to go” Heffernan concluded.
Source: An Post