The UK stationary market will grow by 2.4% despite the increasing use of gadgets such as smartphones and tablets, says a report by Verdict Retail.

Titled ‘The UK Stationery Market 2016-2021’, the report forecasts the country’s stationary market to grow from £2.06bn ($2.52bn) this year to approximately £2.1bn ($2.57bn) in 2021, driven by enhanced product ranges by manufacturers, design-led products, innovation, and the trend of gifting.

"Increased product choice of premium stationery and availability of extra services such as personalisation mean shoppers are increasingly opting for stationery products as gifts."

The retail stationary sales are expected to rise with shoppers continuing to purchase stationary for children going back to school, during seasonal holidays, and for gifting on occasions such as birthdays and holidays such as Christmas, according to Verdict Retail associate analyst Sarah Johns.

“New entrants have made the sector more competitive and innovative than ever before. Low entry barriers have enabled new market entrants to experiment with product design, which has triggered increased interest in stationery, particularly among those aged 16-24. Increased product choice of premium stationery and availability of extra services such as personalisation mean shoppers are increasingly opting for stationery products as gifts,” says Sarah.

The report also states the results of a recent survey conducted by Verdict Retail, which found 57.4% of stationery shoppers to be female and just 42.6% to be male, suggesting that retailers would be able to boost sales by increasing product choice for men, while continuing marketing campaigns targeting both genders.

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Stationery sub-categories including writing and drawing instruments, and accessories are expected to continue their relative sales outperformance over the forecast period. The sales of paper and notepad, storage and other sub-categories are, however, anticipated to decline both in value and volume due to digitisation and increasing use of technological devices.

Verdict Retail opines that technology revolution, however, offers retailers an opportunity to sell their products through new channels such as online with the survey having found 9.7% of stationery shoppers to be online buyers.