Somewhere in the US this week, a grandchild ordered pastries for their grandparents and wrote a note wishing them a happy Easter. Across the world, thousands of other shoppers did something similar. With Easter Sunday just five days away, seasonal gifting climbed to 16% of all gifts, up from a 14% baseline over the past month. And 84% of those seasonal gifts were tagged to Easter.
This is the last full week of data before the holiday. The picture it paints is clear: families are showing up, and they're doing it with feeling.
Where Easter Is Hitting Hardest
Not every country celebrates Easter with the same gifting energy. In Australia, seasonal gifts made up 27% of all gifting this week, the highest share of any major market. Birthday gifts still led there at 46%, but Easter carved out a significant second place. In the US, seasonal gifting accounted for 23% of the week, running nearly even with birthday gifts at 36%.
The UK told a different story. British shoppers stayed focused on birthdays, which made up 54% of all gifts sent from the UK. Seasonal gifting sat at 13% there. One family in the UK celebrated a sister and aunt's 50th birthday with an oak-themed gift and a note that read like a love letter. Easter simply hasn't pulled British shoppers away from milestone celebrations the way it has in Australia and the US.
Family members wrote close to half of all gift notes this week, at 47%. That lines up naturally with Easter, which has always been a family-first holiday. Friends accounted for another 20%, and colleagues showed up at 6%. The week's emotional tone skewed kind and caring: 38% of notes carried a warm, thoughtful tone, while 35% were full of love. Together, those two feelings shaped nearly three-quarters of every gift message written.
New Baby Gifts Keep Climbing, Quietly
While Easter grabbed the spotlight, a different trend kept building underneath. New baby gifting rose for the fourth straight week, growing steadily from around 3% of all gifts a month ago to 9% this week. That's the longest sustained climb of any category in the current data.
France is the epicenter. Nearly half of all French gifts, 46%, were for new parents. Compare that to the US at 10% or the UK where new baby gifts didn't even crack the top five. In one note from the US, parents sent a religious keepsake to their child for a baptism day, a reminder that new baby gifting stretches well beyond the delivery room.
Friends and colleagues are driving a meaningful share of this trend. Friends accounted for 20% of all gift notes, and many of those notes carried congratulations for growing families. Colleagues, at 6%, also showed up with encouraging words for new parents on their teams.
What This Means for Merchants Heading into the Weekend
Easter shoppers are still buying. The data suggests last-minute gifting is real, especially in Australia and the US where seasonal gift shares are strongest. Merchants selling food and beverages, chocolate, or gift boxes are in a natural position. Food and beverage stores drove 27% of all gifting this week, and chocolate and gift boxes were among the most popular product types.
For stores that sell beyond Easter, the new baby trend is worth watching. Four straight weeks of growth suggests this isn't a blip. Merchants with baby-friendly products, keepsakes, personalized gifts, or even congratulations cards might find that shoppers are already looking for exactly what they carry.
This week in numbers
• Seasonal gifting: 16% of all gifts, up from 14% baseline
• Easter's share of seasonal gifts: 84%
• Australia's seasonal gift share: 27%, highest among top markets
• Family-written notes: 47% of all messages
• New baby gifting: 9%, fourth consecutive week of growth
• International gifts: 53% crossed a border
