Necklaces Pull Away as the Most Gifted Product This Spring

With Mother's Day less than a week away in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, one product has separated itself from the field. Necklaces now account for 18% of all gifted products, five full percentage points ahead of gift boxes at 13%. That gap barely existed a few weeks ago.

Family members are driving the surge. Sixty-one percent of all gifts this week came from family, and more than half of all gift notes were full of love. Daughters are choosing necklaces for their mothers. Children are writing messages about appreciation, shared memories, and looking forward to summer reunions. The product and the emotion line up perfectly: something personal, something lasting, something worn close.

Necklaces now lead all gifted products at 18%, pulling five points clear of the next category for the first time this spring.

Jewelry dominates, but the middle tier tells its own story

Bracelets sit right behind gift boxes at 12%, making jewelry the top two product categories by a wide margin. Combined, necklaces and bracelets account for 30% of everything gifted this week. That's nearly one in three gifts featuring a piece of jewelry, and it tracks with jewelry stores leading all industries at 28% of gifting volume.

But beneath that jewelry dominance, a cluster of products are quietly holding steady. Books and candles each represent 7% of gifted products. Neither has the seasonal tailwind pushing jewelry forward, yet both maintain their share week after week. Books come through stores specializing in literature and media (5% of all gifting), while candles live across multiple store types from home goods to personalized gift shops.

Cards and gift wrap together account for 20% of products. These aren't the headline gifts themselves, but they signal something important: shoppers are investing in presentation. They're buying the card alongside the necklace, the wrap alongside the candle. Presentation products rise when shoppers care about the moment of giving, not just the object inside.

Bouquets hold strong but serve a different purpose

Bouquets claim 8% of gifted products, sitting just above books and candles. Florists represent 8% of all gifting industries this week, and their notes tell a different emotional story from jewelry. Where necklace gifts tend to carry notes full of love from children to mothers, bouquet gifts often come with kind, caring notes from friends.

Friends sending pastries and bouquets for Mother's Day celebrations show up in the data this week. It's a reminder that not all Mother's Day gifting flows from child to parent. Friends are showing up for each other, and they're choosing flowers and food to do it. Food and beverage stores, at 17% of all gifting, remain the second-largest industry. The products coming through those stores (curated boxes, baked goods, specialty items) tend to carry warm rather than loving notes, reflecting that professional and friendship gifting gravitates toward food.

Geography shapes what gets gifted

Turkey stands out this week with 52% of its gifting tied to seasonal occasions, the highest of any top market. Turkish shoppers are choosing gifts ahead of Mother's Day with deeply personal notes about first-time motherhood and family milestones. In the UK, where Mother's Day passed in March, 64% of gifting is still birthday-focused, and the product mix skews accordingly: birthday gifts lean toward gift cards, books, and clothing rather than necklaces.

Australia sits in between, with 39% seasonal and 35% birthday gifting. Australian shoppers are splitting their purchases between Mother's Day necklaces and birthday gifts for friends, creating a more balanced product spread than the US, where 45% of all gifting is seasonal this week.

What this means for merchants

Necklaces pulling ahead isn't just a jewelry store story. Any merchant offering pendant-style products, charm accessories, or chain jewelry is sitting in the path of the largest gifting moment of spring. With 51% of all gift notes full of love and 61% coming from family members, the emotional context is clear: shoppers want something meaningful to give someone they love.

For merchants outside jewelry, the data suggests leaning into presentation. Cards and wrap together represent 20% of products, meaning shoppers are actively choosing add-ons that make the gift feel complete. Bundling a candle with a card, or offering gift-ready packaging for books, aligns with how shoppers are already behaving this week.