Parcel delivery comparison website, Parcel2Go.com, recently ran a campaign which sought to encourage bloggers to get in touch with their family and friends who live abroad by sending a sentimental token or parcel instead of an email.
Tomorrow (Friday 9 October) is World Post Day, so there seems no better time to share the results of the campaign and inspire others to ‘Send their Love’ the old-fashioned way
Research conducted by Parcel2Go.com discovered that, unsurprisingly, people prefer to use technology such as social media and email to stay in touch with relatives across the world. 56.5% of people surveyed preferred to use social media and email to contact loved ones abroad. Only 7.6% said they sent parcels to family overseas
More than 750 people responded to a survey asking: ‘How do you keep in touch with relatives living abroad?’ with 28.8% saying they would use social media, 22.7% selecting email and 20.5% preferring a Skype call. Of those who responded, only 7.6% said they favoured sending anything to their loved ones by post.
In order to encourage people to put pen to paper once more, Parcel2Go.com asked bloggers across the UK who have friends or family living abroad to get in touch to share their stories of who they wanted to send a gift to, what special tokens they would send and why.
Favourite UK snacks, a Disney memory box and a hand-painted parcel of love were among some of the thoughtful goodies that were sent across the globe.
Robert Mead, marketing manager at Parcel2Go.com, hoped the campaign would show people that so-called snail mail isn’t as slow as the name suggests and that you can’t beat the sentimental value of sending and receiving a parcel. “Gone are the days when sending letters or parcels overseas would take weeks or months. Shipping abroad is cheaper and faster than ever, so sending a special gift to a loved one abroad has never been easier,” Robert commented.
“A small token or gift in the post says so much more than an email or text message, and with only a little extra effort you can go the extra mile for your friend or family member in another part of the world. Opening an email from you will make them happy, but an unexpected gift sent the old-fashioned way will really make their day.”
And it seems as though the bloggers agreed! Sarah Ryman, of afieldsomewhere.com commented after posting the gift: “I really enjoyed parcelling up all the goodies for my sister. I can’t wait for my sister to open it and I’m already shopping for the next one!”
