Business Opportunities Weblog

December 21, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 2 Comments

BusinessWeek:

If your mailbox has been light on invites to holiday soirées this season, there may still be cause for celebration: Just check your in-box.

Ad-supported online services that deliver festive, free e-mail invitations are surging in popularity. Market leader Evite says it’s on track to deliver a record number of holiday party invites. The site, nearly 10 years old, expects its users to send invitations to more than 30 million people this December, up nearly 30% from last year. “We have had a really great start to the season,” says Lariayn Payne, Evite’s vice-president of marketing.

Payne attributes part of the steady double-digit growth in online invitations to rising concerns about the environment. Saving paper, and ultimately trees, by sending free digital invitations is an easy way to be green—in more than one way. “With more awareness of eco-issues and the like, people are more open to sending online invitations,” says Payne.

Increasing mail costs are also keeping some party planners from licking postage stamps. In May, the U.S. Postal Service increased the cost of sending a first-class envelope by 3¢, to 41¢. A few cents may not sound like much, but to a frequent party planner—particularly one who follows the etiquette of including a stamped reply envelope with a mailed invitation—those pennies can add up.

Read more.

Photo by Evite.

In Communication, Holiday, Internet | 2 Comments