This is real – newsXpress helps its members grow card sales through proven evidence-based engagement at a store by store level.
This is an exclusive service and its free.
Greeting cards remain the anchor category for most shops in our network, so we watch the data closely. Our latest benchmark study of 32 newsXpress member shops, covering January to May 2026, shows average card prices rising across the board.
Every shop that reported card data saw a flat or rising average card price year on year. The network median average card price moved from $6.04 to $6.27. At the top end, one shop achieved an average card price of $8.97. At the bottom, $4.43.
That spread, from $4.43 to $8.97, is the story. Two shops selling the same category, and one banks more than double the revenue per card sold. Same counter space. Same customer occasion. Very different result.
Publishers are lifting prices and customers are paying them. The question for any card retailer is whether your range lets you participate in that shift. Our advice to members, based on this data, is practical:
- If your average card price sits below $5.50, you have clear headroom. The fix is range curation, not price gouging. Reduce low value lines and bring in premium publishers alongside your standard range.
- Review the range at least annually. A card department untouched for 12 months is almost certainly carrying dead stock, and dead stock costs you twice: the capital tied up and the better seller it is blocking.
- Watch your captions. The occasions driving premium purchases deserve the best position in the department, not alphabetical order.
This is what newsXpress members receive as part of membership, at no extra charge. We analyse the data, we benchmark it against comparable shops, and we turn it into actions you can take this week. We also negotiate with card suppliers on behalf of close to 200 member shops, which gives members access and terms an independent rarely gets alone.
Cards built this channel. Managed well, they still fund it. The data says the opportunity is sitting in the average price, and most shops have not collected it yet. If you would like to see how your card department compares, talk to us.
