Introduction

Moonpig, which was founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Nick Jenkins and became the pioneer in the UK greeting card sector by bringing a special form of online personalized card service to the attention of the world (Ambrose et al. 2019). When digital e-cards would be expected to take over the business, Jenkins pinpointed a niche for physical cards which could be personalized online and shipped to the customers within a short time. This innovative strategy made it possible for customers to design custom greeting cards on their user-friendly site, and next-day delivery, was one of their big selling points. The business model worked because people who preferred the personal feel of the store as well as convenience of buying online were its customers (Moonpig Group plc. 2025a). The efficient service, quality goods, and the satisfaction of customers informed the scope of strategic efforts by Moonpig which created some high-profile loyal customers. The company also utilized digital marketing aspect to reach a wide range of people, in order to increase visibility as well as interest from potential customers. By 2011, Moonpig had swept the UK online greeting card market, having captured 90% of its market share (Ambrose et al. 2019). And the success of Moonpig attracted the attention of another French company, online photo album company PhotoBox which bought Moonpig for £120m. This acquisition was the culmination of Jenkins’ vision and also the story of Moonpig standing on its niche startup feet and becoming an industry giant.

Analysis of Moonpig as an SME

Business Concept and Competitive Advantage

Business idea of Moonpig is of creating personalized greeting cards that can be accessed through an intuitive online platform to serve customers who need convenience, customization and quality. Founded in 1999, the company saw an industry opportunity where traditional card retailers lacked to provide personalized products within a short time frame (Ambrose et al. 2019). In contrast to ordinary card shops, the Moonpig allowed shoppers to pick a card design, type in a personal message, and get it printed and mailed back the same day (24 hours). This idea was attractive to modern consumers who would like to have one on one experience without the hassle physical store visits. The USP of the company is seamless integration of personalization and fast delivery. By developing a friendly to use site, Moonpig was able to guide customers through the process of customization, and thus the whole practice of ordering a custom box became simpler and more accessible even for non-tech-based users (Ambrose et al. 2019). The brand presented itself as a reliable quality provider of services, taking advantage of its strong customer focus to create a loyal client franchise. Moonpig used high quality materials as well as professional printing methods, thus customer satisfaction was assured. Digital marketing as well as purposeful advertising contributed to increased brand visibility and repeat purchases as well as word-of-mouth referee. Such a combination of innovation, customer focus and end to end efficient delivery made Moonpig a market leader of online greeting cards.

Figure 1: Current Core Markets

(Source: Moonpig Group plc., 2024)

Growth and Development Strategy

Moonpig’s strategy of growth and development is anchored around being the ultimate online gifting partner in its core geographical regions. Originally set up as an online leader in personalized greeting cards, Moonpig has since become a card-first gifting platform. The company wants to use its data science capabilities to expand further into the overall online gifting market, becoming the prime commercial destination for customers. The strategy leverages the structural change from offline to online gifting directed at capturing these new customers from a large pool of offline card purchasers in core regions such as the UK and the Netherlands. Moonpig continues a “card-first” customer acquisition strategy built on its high levels of brand awareness to pull in and convert new users into its platform. The robust brand reputation of the company supports its vision to expand consumer base and attract customers who are gradually transitioning to digital channels.  

Figure 2: Development Strategy of Moonpig

Source: (Moonpig Group plc., 2024)

Increasing customer wallet share forms a part of Moonpig’s strategy of driving growth from the existing customer base. The firm wants to better mix up its line of offering with the help of the Global Design platform, diversify gifting, and become more convenient with the help of app which will bring up higher gift engagement rates. Further, Moonpig is dedicated to constant technological improvement, therefore, working tirelessly towards making the customer journey personalized using an app-first approach. By attaching Moonpig and Greetz onto a single technology platform, the company has improved its capacity to roll out new features quickly. The use of data science and AI driven insights enable Moonpig to maximize the customer experiences with personalized gift suggestions, which propel the revenue upward and increase Customer Lifetime Value. Moonpig strives to reinforce its market with being the number one digital gifting platform in their key markets through this initiative.

Figure 3: Use of data and technology at Moonpig

Source: (Moonpig Group plc., 2024)

Financial Performance and Investment

Moonpig Group plc has produced excellent financial performance in the financial year ending 30 April 2025, which shows the strength of the company as a market leader in online greeting cards and gifting in the UK & the Netherlands. The Group expects the full year revenue to be between £350m and £353m, reflecting dramatic increase. The Adjusted EBITDA margin is forecast to be at the top end of the above guided range of 25% to 27%, indicating strong operating execution and margin performance (Moonpig Group plc., 2025b). Besides, the firm anticipates double-digit percentage increase in Adjusted Earnings Per Share (EPS) thereby ascertaining financial stability.

The key financial strategy in which Moonpig has invested is committed to shareholder value. After the successful conclusion of a £25 million share repurchase plan over six months, the Group has announced a new £60 million ‘share buyback’ to be launched on the 2026 fiscal calendar (Moonpig Group plc., 2025b). This is a vote of confidence in the cash flow generation of the company and the methods of returning capital to shareholders as per the company’s strategy.

The business continues to be highly cash generative with the expectation of the net leverage of the business sitting at a level of approximately 1.0x Adjusted EBITDA by end financial year. This robust cash flow is generated by Moonpig’s core growth levers. a growing number of customers, a greater frequency of orders placed, and a higher average order value (Moonpig Group plc., 2025b). And improved recommendation algorithms and the entrance to the market of popular third parties have also mandated the increase in gift attachment rates.

Technological innovation further confirms the financial success of the Group. This is well supported by research findings (Al-Sartawi et al. 2021). AI enabled features like AI handwriting and video messages have on one hand improve customer engagement and on the other way lead to increase in average order value (Bag et al. 2022). Moonpig’s approach to data-driven decision making and customer personalization remains a strategic survival strategy ensuring profitability, a perfect strategy to leverage on for sustainable growth in online gifting market.

Challenges Faced by Moonpig

Market Perception Challenges

MoonPig has also encountered considerable problems regarding its market perception during the current economic situation, because purchase of its nonessential items has been reduced by the high living charges and uncertain economy. Despite its massive presence in the UK that forms more than 80% of its revenue, the projections for annual revenue for the financial year 2025 have declined for the company (Job 2025). The company is now predicting revenue of between £350 million and £353 million, only marginal of consensus of £355.9 million. Such a deficit is indicative of more general direction of decreased expenditures on nonessential items, including holiday gifting, as are people’s tendency to reallocate money to more essential ones. Apart from economic pressures in the UK, Moonpig’s expansion in to international territory has also been faced with difficulties. The Greetz brand of the company in the Netherlands went slow in the first half of the fiscal year, the crucial period when important retail occasions lie, such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day (Job 2025). The economic slump in Europe and changed consumer priorities have affected the sales momentum and challenged ability to sustain growth in such new markets as U.S. and Australia. Nonetheless, MoonPig is hopeful of being able to sustain its core earnings margin at the high end of the 25%-27% forecast (Job 2025). The firm had invested in AI driven technologies to help it become better at engaging customers, and for instance, manage online search functions more efficiently. These innovations have increased average order value by persuading the customer to buy more than their initial plan. Although its revenue levels have decreased, such strategic investments made by MoonPig in technology is a growth plan of proactiveness to address the current situation in the market and maintain profitability.

Operational and Technological Challenges

Moon Pig faced huge challenges of foregoing operations and technology as its customer base grew in a short time. To be in a position to deliver high service quality across an expanded volume of orders, there was a need for substantial investment in IT infrastructure. In order to ensure that this is not a problem, MoonPig incorporated latest technologies, with the use of tools for personalization powered by the AI component to improve the client experience and to make the process of placing an order quicker (Moonpig Group plc., 2025a). In addition, the company integrated its technology for the MoonPig and Greetz services onto one united technology platform increasing efficiency and uniformity. Well qualified managerial personnel were hired to manage the daily activities and maintain high service values in spite of rapid growth. This strategic emphasis on technology as well as leadership allowed MoonPig to keep the customer happy through expansion.

Leadership and Succession Planning

The leadership succession planning model in Moonpig has a strong orientation toward diversity and inclusion concerning its governance organization. To acknowledge the value of having a variety of perspectives the company has established a holistic Board Diversity Policy in order to improve the effectiveness of leadership and competitive advantage (Moonpig Group plc., 2025c). The policy stresses diversity on many levels as in gender, ethnicity, skills, socio-economic status and more. In order to sustain leadership continuity, MoonPig is passionate about developing internal talent pipelines, while hiring high performing employees from varied backgrounds. The Group also seeks to meet or exceed these diversity targets by, among other things, striving for at least 40% female representation in Board and the Extended Leadership Team. Additionally, the company is committed to sustain a joint presence of women and ethnic minorities at approximately 50% in senior leadership structure (Moonpig Group plc., 2025c). Through the work of the Nomination Committee, Moonpig’s Board always takes care of the progress in the alignment with the corporate governance codes and practice. Through development of a diverse leadership team MoonPig not only ensures succession planning but also builds innovation and resilience in the leadership roles. Such strategic approach enables the company to keep the leadership stable in a face of business expansion and market expansion threats.

Strategic Business Development Methods

Digital Marketing

MoonPig is reviving its digital marketing approach with the goal of fostering emotional marketing to enhance customer bond. Emotional impact of giving and receiving greeting cards is celebrated to transform the brand from a “needs state” to a “joy state”. Chief Marketing Officer Andre Rickerby stressed that MoonPig will be interested in showing how giving a card is not just a routine act, but a warm sentiment that is inclined to create warmth and connection (eTail Europe 2025). In an effort to do so, the company is retooling its marketing strategy to focus on the emotional gain to be had from its products. The idea is to preserve the quirky but caring brand identity but also to grow to suit chaotic consumer expectations.

Customer Experience and Retention

MoonPig values customer experience and retention, which is why it pioneered an intelligently branded product that keeps improving its offerings and services. The company between time updates its card designs and themes of the season to keep customers feeding with new designs for every occasion. In addition, the commitment by MoonPig to do delivery fast and with reliability such as MoonPig Guaranteed Delivery, strengthen the trust of customers (eTail Europe 2025). Using technology and insight based on data, MoonPig personalizes customer journey so it is intuitive and engaging for gift selection. Such work leads to strong customer loyalty, as is shown by the high level of repeat purchases and long-term relationships with customers.

Financial Management and Sustainability

Investment and Profitability

MoonPig’s investment and profitability strategy is anchored on the power of its existing market leadership, proprietary technology, and strong financial model. The company’s business model that can be easily scaled, together with steady increase in revenue serve as the back bone of its financial stability. With a robust customer acquisition ability and high customer retention, MoonPig produces consistent cash flows that support continued reinvestment into research and expansion of the market (Moonpig Group plc. 2025d). The proprietary technology platform improves operational efficiency as well as stands as a competitive barrier to other potential competitors hence guarding profitability. By establishing a developing and talented group of employees, MoonPig guarantees sustainable growth at high performance and great financial earnings.

Acquisition Strategy

MoonPig’s acquisition strategy is geared towards speeding up its move towards a complete online gifting partner. In May 2022, MoonPig bought Smartbox Group UK Limited (Buyagift) for the sum of £124m and used the opportunity to enter the high-growth £6bn area of UK gift experiences (Moonpig Group plc. 2022). This strategic shot allows MoonPig to connect extensively with the portfolio of physical and experiential gifts offered by Buyagift without adding to its inventory and thereby strengthens its gifting proposition. The acquisition is financially attractive and is expected to deliver over 20% EPS accretion in first year (Moonpig Group plc. 2022). With the combination of MoonPig’s data-driven strategy and Buyagift’s market presence, cross-selling is hoped to be achieved and long run revenue growth maintained.

Recommendations for Future Growth

The primary priority for the company should be to develop products and markets by diversifying the range of products and conquering new markets and promoting goods in a more sustainable manner based on the data (Razak 2022). By adding its range of personalized products such as gifts and merchandise, its product line would reach a wider customer base and the revenue per customer would be increased. Reasons to introduce new products include, gift bundles that can be personalized or theme collection. Also, targeting international markets with localized products would allow MoonPig to access never before seen revenue streams and increase its footprint in the global environment (Okonkwon et al. 2023). Just as important is the investment into data analytics, because this will allow MoonPig to gain a better insight into customer preferences, to optimize the areas of marketing to customer’s needs, and to increase engagement with them through individual offers.

Conclusion

MoonPig’s success story based on strategic foresight, customer focused innovations and successful risk management is a testament. Since its inception in 1999 as a disruptor in the market for greeting cards, C Five Group has continued to evolve towards becoming a full-service online gifting platform and has been relevant due to its ability to adapt to market conditions and changing consumer needs. Nick Jenkins, founder of its founder, showcased entrepreneurial vision by targeting personalized physical even as most competitors predicted killing fields for e-cards. This strategic risk bore fruit and enabled the MoonPig company to take a large piece of the UK market. After 2011, successive acquisitions by PhotoBox only helped MoonPig to strengthen its market position by the ability to operate with improved technological capabilities and to diversify the product line. The company’s emphasis with digital transformation, including data-driven marketing and integration of AI, has also managed to keep the customer interest and to maintain operational discipline. However, as the economic environment learns, and the pattern of consumer spending changes, Moonpig must also find ways to innovate. Product diversification investment and furthering international markets will be critical to keeping growth. In addition, ability to sustain focus on the customer experience exacerbated with the use of data analytics will help MoonPig to stay competitive. Growing a culture of innovation and strategic adaptability Moonpig has the ability to continue leading the online gifting industry.

References

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