Couples preparing for marriage have turned to digital alternatives instead of printed invitations, changing the balance in the industry.
İlkay Ural, who operates in the invitation industry in Eskişehir, stated that the demand for printed invitations has decreased significantly with the rapid spread of digitalization in the wedding industry. Stating that increasing costs, the increase in couples living in different cities, artificial intelligence-supported design applications and unregistered sales through social media have negatively affected the sector, Ural stated that orders for printed invitations have decreased significantly compared to the past.
Increasing costs and intercity distances have pushed couples preparing for marriage away from the traditional invitation method. Stating that digital invitations have begun to replace printed cards due to the difficulty of delivering invitations and budget constraints in marriages held in different cities, İlkay Ural said, "In the past, people mostly married people living in the same city. Now, with the spread of social media and the influence of universities, people have started to live in different cities. Couples getting married from different cities have difficulty in physically delivering invitations. In addition, due to increasing costs, either more affordable invitations are preferred or fewer invitations are printed. This increases the tendency towards digital invitations."
"Date change means new expense on printed paper"
Ural stated that the negativities experienced in traditional printing houses and printing processes often cause businesses and publishers to face financial losses, and pointed out that due to the irreversible nature of physical printing, even the slightest information change starts the printing process from the beginning and digital transformation reduces the cost in this process. Ural said, "When there is a date or time change after printing, it is difficult to change it and another expense is incurred. As a result, we cannot embroider anything on that printed paper, we order the paper. If there is a problem caused by the other party, we are forced to collect the fee and start printing. At this point, the convenience offered by digitalization is very normal."
"Family elders are against this new approach"
Stating that the need for physical invitations has not completely ended and that the family elders' loyalty to traditional printed invitations continues, İlkay Ural said, "The family elders are against this new approach. Our industry is already turning to them for their sake. The older generation is looking for something physical, and that paper will come to them. However, the numbers have dropped a lot. While we used to talk about numbers like a thousand or 2 thousand, now we are talking about 200-300 pieces. Prices in our industry are from 300 lira for 100 pieces." "It can start and go up to 50-60 thousand liras. Each separate transaction means an extra price," he said.
"Unregistered sales on social media affect business volume"
Ural mentioned that artificial intelligence, content production programs and unregistered sales negatively affect the business volume, and concluded his speech as follows:
"We have our shop, taxes, rent, withholding tax and employees. Those who do this job unregistered on social media can sell invitations at cheaper prices because they do not cover even half of our expenses. This inevitably affects us negatively in terms of business volume." - ESKİŞEHİR