Sainsbury’s is really getting behind Thinking of You Week this year, like never before. The leading grocer is giving the event a long run-up, with a dedicated display of some 50 designs from several publishers having gone into its top 200 stores from the middle of August that will remain in situ until the end of the official week (September 21-27).
Explaining why the retailer has upped its commitment to the GCA-instigated card sending campaign, Carly Pearson, senior buyer of greeting cards, giftwrap and stationery for Sainsbury’s said: “Deciding to participate in Thinking of You Week this year was always on the cards, especially with the last few months having been a very difficult time for our customers.”
As Carly revealed “During this period, as the growth in our card sales indicate, customers have had a desire to reach out and connect with friends and family and let them know they are thinking of them, knowing how receiving a card can be supportive to the recipient in difficult times. Anything we can do help make this easier has to be seen as a positive thing.”
Sainsbury’s initially tested take up with a half bay of Thinking of You, Miss You etc captioned cards in 70 of its stores, which, Carly said “formed a good testbed to gauge customer interest in these sorts of sending occasions from a non-card specialist like us!”
The positive results of this led to the decision to install a shipper (featuring GCA Thinking of You Week branding) into the top 200 Sainsbury’s stores from mid-August with plans to keep it in stores right through to the end of Thinking of You Week.
This special displays accommodate around 50 greeting card designs from several card publishers, including Belly Button Designs, Lucilla Lavender, Oh Deer, Rosie Made A Thing, Sooshichacha, Stormy Knight and UKG.
This news item was written by Jakki Brown, editor of Progressive Greetings Worldwide and PG Buzz.net, the industry newsfeed (https://www.pgbuzz.net/)
The top 200 Sainsbury’s stores will each have a dedicated TOYW shipper installed in August and will remain in place 
Carly Pearson, senior buyer of Sainsbury’s feels the current climate has highlighted the importance of sending cards
