How to Choose Greeting Cards for Your Shop
Greeting cards are one of the most reliable impulse purchases in independent retail. They have a low price point, a fast turnover, and - when chosen well - they attract exactly the kind of customer you want: someone who cares about design, values quality, and is already in the habit of spending thoughtfully.
But choosing the right cards for your shop takes more than picking designs you personally love. The range needs to work commercially, suit your customer base, and sit coherently alongside everything else you stock.
Here's what to consider.
Start With Your Customer, Not the Cards
Before looking at any supplier's catalogue, it's worth being clear about who is buying from you and why they come in.
A gift shop in a market town with an older, predominantly female customer base will have very different needs to a design-led boutique in a city neighbourhood. A florist adding cards as an add-on sale needs something different to a stationer building cards as a core category.
Ask yourself:
- What occasions do my customers buy for most often? Birthdays will almost always be the answer, but the balance between sympathy, new baby, wedding, thank you and everyday cards varies significantly by location and customer type.
- What price point do my customers expect? Cards range from £2.50 to £8 or more at the premium end. If your average basket is £40, a £6 card is an easy add-on. If your customers are price-sensitive, it may sit uncomfortably.
- What aesthetic do my customers respond to? Illustrated and design-led? Photographic? Humorous? Traditional? Your card range should feel like it belongs in your shop, not like it arrived from somewhere else.
Getting clear on these questions first means you're choosing cards for your customers, not for yourself.
Build a Range, Not a Collection
One of the most common mistakes independent retailers make with greeting cards is buying too many designs across too few occasions - ending up with a visually interesting display that doesn't actually cover what customers come in looking for.
A well-structured range prioritises depth over breadth. That means:
Occasions first. Make sure you have cards for all the high-frequency occasions: birthday (multiple options at different price points), thank you, sympathy, new baby, wedding or engagement, and a selection of blank or everyday cards. These are the ones customers need reliably, and if you don't have them you'll lose the sale entirely.
Design coherence second. Within those occasions, choose designs that feel like they belong together - not necessarily identical in style, but consistent in quality and aesthetic. A range that looks curated is more persuasive than one that looks assembled.
Depth on birthday. Birthday cards are the most frequently purchased card category by a significant margin. Having five or six birthday designs across different styles - from simple and elegant to warm and illustrative - gives customers a genuine choice and increases the chance of a sale.
What Makes a Card Sell
Beautiful design gets a card noticed. But the cards that actually sell consistently tend to share a few practical characteristics:
A blank interior. Cards with pre-printed messages inside limit the buyer's ability to personalise - and many customers specifically seek out blank cards so they can write something themselves. A blank interior is generally a commercial advantage.
Good paper weight. Customers handle cards before they buy them. A card that feels substantial - 350gsm or above - communicates quality immediately and justifies a higher price point. Thin, flimsy cards feel cheap even if the design is good.
A clean envelope. The envelope is part of the product. A well-fitted, good-quality envelope in a coordinating colour or classic white signals that the whole thing has been thought through. Envelopes that don't quite fit, or that feel thin, undermine an otherwise good card.
A clear occasion. Unless you're stocking a specifically blank or everyday range, cards that are clearly for a specific occasion - and say so - sell more reliably than cards that could be for anything. Customers buy with intent.
Sustainability Credentials Matter More Than Ever
An increasing number of independent retailers are making sustainability commitments - to their suppliers, their customers, and themselves. And customers are noticing. Cards that are plastic-free, printed on responsibly sourced paper, and made without unnecessary packaging are increasingly a selling point rather than just a nice-to-have.
When evaluating suppliers, it's worth asking:
- Are the cards sold without cellophane wrapping?
- What paper stock are they printed on, and is it responsibly sourced?
- What is the supplier's position on plastic packaging more broadly?
At Katie Leamon, everything we produce has been plastic-free since 2020 — no cellophane, no plastic backing, no unnecessary packaging. It's something our stockists tell us their customers notice and appreciate.
Choosing a Supplier
Once you know what you're looking for in a range, the supplier relationship matters as much as the product itself. A few things worth evaluating:
Minimum order quantities. Some suppliers require large minimum orders that don't make sense for a smaller independent. Look for suppliers who offer realistic minimums for your volume, or who allow you to build a range gradually.
Reorder flexibility. The best-selling cards in your range will sell out and need replacing. A supplier who makes reordering easy - without requiring you to meet a large minimum each time - is much easier to work with long term.
Seasonal availability. If you're stocking a Christmas range, you need a supplier who has their catalogue available early enough for you to make buying decisions - typically February to April for Christmas stock.
Trade support. Good suppliers make it easy to stock them: clear wholesale pricing, well-presented catalogues, straightforward ordering. If the process of buying from a supplier is difficult, the range rarely performs as well as it should.
Ready to Stock Katie Leamon?
Our wholesale range covers greeting cards for every occasion - birthday, thank you, sympathy, wedding, new baby and everyday - alongside notebooks, writing sets, gift wrap and pens. Everything is designed in our North London studio, made in England on sustainably sourced materials, and completely plastic-free.
We work with independent boutiques, gift shops, florists, bookshops and major retailers across the UK and internationally.
Find out about stocking Katie Leamon →
Or register directly for a trade account at katieleamonwholesale.com.