Popularity of traditional holiday memento hit by smartphones, ‘rude rock’ and rising price of stamps

A trip to the British seaside may not always have been something to write home about, but these days you might struggle even if you wanted to.

At the Little Gems gift shop in Blackpool town centre, all the usual seaside wares are on display – beach towels, plastic buckets and spades, sticks of rock – but one item is notably missing.