Is MMS killing the postcard industry?

Is it just me or is the postal service having a rough time of it of late. First of all their main market dwindled massively when email began. Then, to top it off, Fox has just reported that MMS is killing the postcard industry.

According to the digital measurement firm comScore photo messaging climbed 60 per cent in the US and 16 per cent in Europe last year and summer holidays are apparently the reason.

60 per cent does seem a lot to blame on holiday snaps rather than the technology finally being adopted and I’ve not seen figures from postcard makers saying they’ve seen a corresponding reduction in sales. According to the release pasted onto Fox News:

As the mercury climbs in the summer months, so does the usage of photo messaging in the United States, where for the past three years, photo messaging rates have been higher than average in July and August.

“Summer vacations provide the perfect context for photo messaging, as the utility of instantly sharing a holiday moment with loved ones is undeniably compelling,” commented Mark Donovan, senior vice president, comScore Mobile Products. “The cameraphone could replace the postcard as the preferred mode to say ‘wish you were here,’ as even parents and grandparents are snapping and sending photos from their mobile devices.”

Admittedly I’m both cheap and lazy so rarely do either but a quick straw poll of friends suggest it might be true. At least they’ll arrive before you get back.

It would also be good to see the figures once new legislation comes into force to reduce the cost of sending an MMS from oversees.