Excitement Edges Past Gratitude in Summer Gift Notes

Something shifted in gift notes this week. For the first time since the spring holiday season began, shoppers buzzing about what's ahead outnumber those saying thank you. Excitement accounts for 11% of all gift note sentiment, while gratitude has dropped to 7%. The reversal is quiet but meaningful: when the calendar stops telling people to give, the reasons become forward-looking.

When holidays fade, shoppers stop writing out of obligation and start writing out of anticipation.

The Gratitude Fade and What Replaced It

Gratitude had a strong spring. Mother's Day, Father's Day, and the thank-you gifting that orbits around them pushed grateful notes to 9% of all sentiment through May and June. But the trajectory tells the fuller story: gratitude has fallen every week for a month straight, from its peak down to just 171 notes in the most recent partial data. It hasn't disappeared, but it's no longer driving the emotional tone of gifting.

In its place, excitement has climbed. Teams are sending birthday wishes to colleagues with can't-wait energy. Friends in Australia are writing notes full of anticipation about upcoming celebrations. Parents in the US are writing to daughters turning seven with a mix of love and thrill about the party ahead. The notes aren't looking backward with thanks. They're pointing forward.

This lines up with what's happening on the calendar. Birthday gifting now accounts for 38% of all gifts, up from a 28% baseline. Birthdays are inherently anticipatory. Unlike holidays of gratitude or duty, a birthday is something people look forward to. The emotion follows the occasion.

Love and Warmth Hold Steady While the Edges Diversify

The top two emotions haven't changed. Notes full of love lead at 38%, with kind, caring notes close behind at 33%. That's been the baseline split for weeks and it's holding firm into summer. But beneath that stable surface, the secondary emotions are telling a more varied story.

Playful notes now hold 2% of all sentiment. Families are sending lighthearted gifts to kids, including storybook costume capes and notes that read more like inside jokes than formal messages. Notes of encouragement account for another 3%, with friends cheering each other on through milestones. Even notes of comfort hold steady at 2%, particularly in New Zealand where sympathy and get-well gifting make up 9% of the market each.

During the holiday peaks, love and warmth compressed everything else to the margins. Now that the calendar has cleared, the emotional palette has room to spread. Six different sentiments hold at least 2% share this week, compared to the holiday weeks when three emotions consumed over 80% of all notes.

Family Keeps Writing With Love, Friends Bring the Energy

The relationship data adds texture. Family members still write 42% of all gift notes, and their dominant emotion remains love. Parents writing to children, grandparents welcoming newborns, siblings celebrating birthdays. These notes are deeply personal and emotionally direct.

Friends, who account for 23% of gifting, carry a different energy. Their notes skew toward warmth and excitement rather than love. Friends in the UK are sending birthday wishes and planning celebrations together. Friends in Australia are writing with gratitude about shared memories ahead of upcoming events. The 12% of gifts from partners still carry the most concentrated love, but friends bring the variety.

Professional gifting, at 7%, continues to lean excited. Colleagues writing birthday notes to teammates bring a lighter, more anticipatory tone than family or romantic givers. It's the corner of gifting where excitement most clearly outweighs every other emotion.

What This Means for Merchants

When shoppers shift from gratitude to excitement, the framing of a gift changes. They're not buying something to say "thanks for what you did." They're buying something to say "I can't wait to celebrate with you." That distinction shapes everything from product descriptions to gift message prompts.

Stores seeing increased birthday traffic this summer can lean into that anticipatory energy. Gift note prompts that invite excitement rather than formality will match what shoppers are already feeling. And with six distinct emotions holding meaningful share, the days of one-size-fits-all gift messaging are fading. The more specific the prompt, the more it matches the moment.