SMS by the millions but cards still touch - By Irdiani Mohd Salleh

Sumber : Blog NSTP

KUALA LUMPUR: Within just a few seconds, Iza Hairani Abaraham wished more than 30 friends all around the country Selamat Berpuasa.
All she needed to do was press the "send" button on her handphone.
"SMS greetings are so much easier and cheaper than real greeting cards," said the 26-year-old administration assistant.
For only RM5, she could send more than 30 SMSes compared with only six 80 sen greeting cards.
"It doesn't matter whether I do it through SMS or cards as long as I send my greeting," she said.
Iza's SMSes were among millions being sent during Ramadan.
Maxis Communications Berhad spokesman said about 40 million SMSes were sent daily during Ramadan.
"Based on last year's statistics, SMSes that were sent during Ramadan were 14 per cent more than in other months.
"However, more SMSes are sent during Hari Raya. For example, some 60 million SMSes were sent on the first day of Hari Raya last year."
With the advancement of mobile technology, SMS or MMS greetings have become as creative and colourful as festival greeting cards.
"There is not much difference between SMS and cards. That's why I prefer to send my greetings through SMSes," Iza said.
Carduta Sdn Bhd managing director Thomas Lim said the greeting card industry was badly affected when SMS services first became popular among Malaysians.
"The sales dropped tremendously. But now, after a few years, sales have bounced back as people prefer receiving cards that are personally picked out," he said.
Trader Nor Azlan Mohd Zubir, 19, said the sales of Hari Raya cards this year was 10 per cent less compared with last year.
"More youngsters prefer to send SMS or emails as it is convenient for them," he said.
A student Nizran Azman, 17, said he would normally spend about RM15 to send SMSes during Ramadan and Hari Raya.
"I have many friends and relatives across the country. As a student, I think it is more economical if I send my greetings through SMS," he said.
Memory Lane assistant product manager for greeting cards Tammy Cheung said although more people were using SMS to convey their greetings to friends and families, cards would be the main choice when it comes to sending festival greetings "appropriately".
"This is the opportunity for companies to show their appreciation to their clients, customers and staff.
"It is definitely not appropriate to send an SMS greeting in such a case."
Cheung added for this coming Hari Raya, Memory Lane has printed more than 1.5 million cards worth RM5.2 million.
"There are always challenges in the industry especially from telco companies which offer SMS services.
"However, receiving an SMS greeting is still not comparable to receiving a greeting card," she said.
"We are all humans driven by emotion and when a sender makes the effort to send a greeting card, it matters a lot to the receiver," she said.