Getting Stationery Sales Right Trends in Putting Pen to Paper

By Sara Karnish

As consumers increasingly return to everyday life, some pandemic-inspired trends have carried over. “Screen fatigue,” caused by hours spent working and learning online, has inspired a return to the days of hand-writing cards and letters. Stationery stores are seeing a resurgence of customers wanting to put pen to paper, rather than fingers to keyboard, in their written correspondence.

“So many people come into the store and they say, ‘Well, no one writes anymore. They text.’ My argument is—we sell a lot of stationery now. I think there is a craving for a tactile experience,” said Nancy Laboz , owner of Parcel in Montclair, N.J. “I think there’s a craving for holding onto past generations and the way things were done. People are very interested in pressing wax seals; if the paper is hand-made or hand-torn, there’s a nod to the olden days of writing letters. It’s kind of a romantic notion. I have men coming in to buy writing paper. Gift wrapping was more prominent than ever this past year. To hold a pen and practice handwriting again…there’s a little bit of a ritual to that. Where it may be lost in business correspondence, I think it’s picked up in personal correspondence. Journaling is big. The younger generation is newly embracing that. For us, being kind of vintage-inspired has helped. It’s all those beautiful traditions coming back. People come to us knowing they’re going to get the finery in writing and paper.”

Like other retailers, stationers say customers want unique paper and writing implements to send personal messages. Greeting cards are also enjoying something of a Renaissance, said Jennifer Luna , owner of Paper Luxe Stationery and Gifts, with locations in Fircrest and Gig Harbor, Wash. “[Our best-sellers] are birthday, sympathy, or just because. Greeting cards are an affordable way for anyone to connect with friends and family that makes both the sender and the recipient feel good in a way that just cannot compete with digital. We also have card collectors that just find