In another display of generation gap and digital divide, a survey released Friday by research firm Roy Morgan found that older women comprise the main market of greeting cards and wrapping paper manufacturers.

The study found that the average profile of a greeting cards buyer is an older and relatively traditional woman from the Midwest or South and is retired or a home maker. The usual buyer of wrapping paper is a middle-aged women, but slightly more affluent than the buyer of greeting cards.

In the last 12 months, 29.3 million Americans bought greeting cards while 13.4 million of them purchase gift wrapping paper.

Buyers of both products are often home bodies who are focused on their homes than careers. Among the activities shared by card buyers, 62 per cent said they love to cook, 42 per cent cannot relax unless the house is clean, while among wrapping paper buyers 67 per cent are into cooking and 53 per cent into tidying up their residences.

Among the known brands of greeting cards, 36 per cent of the survey respondents said they bought Hallmark greeting cards for Christmas 2010 and 21 per cent purchased American Greeting cards.

"At Christmas time, the market for greeting cards and wrapping paper are different. Households shopping for greeting cards are focused on the brand and quality of the card's content, while households buying wrapping paper are price sensitive and happy to settle for the store brand from discount stores," Roy Morgan Research Vice President for Business Development Portia Morgan said in a statement.

In contrast, 36 per cent of Australians plan to send their Christmas greetings not through standard greeting cards, but through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, a report by telecom giant Optus said.

While a higher 50 per cent of young Aussies would greet their friends and relatives on social networking sites, 75 per cent of Aussies who are now in their 50s plan to call using their mobile and home phones to send their Christmas greetings.

Again, it showed the digital divide between the older and younger generation of Australians.

The need for wrapping paper is also becoming less in Australia. Another study by Roy Morgan released last week found that 66 per cent of young Australians received cash as Christmas presents, up from 62 per cent in 2007.

The average amount of cash gift also went up to $85 in 2010 from $71 in 2007.

RELATED STORIES