Something shifted this week. Seasonal gifting, which had been building slowly through April, more than doubled in a single week. With Mother's Day two weeks away in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, shoppers aren't just thinking about Mom. They're buying.
Fourteen percent of all gifts this week tied to a named holiday, up from a 10% baseline over the past month. Of that seasonal slice, 86% pointed directly to Mother's Day. Families are continuing cherished traditions, like children sending puzzles to their mothers in new cities, and writing notes full of love about what those rituals mean. The countdown has become a current.
Seasonal gifting more than doubled in a single week. 86% of it is heading to Mom.
The Gratitude Wave Building Underneath
Mother's Day is, at its core, a gratitude holiday. And the data reflects that. Shoppers writing notes full of appreciation have climbed for five consecutive weeks. Thank-you gifts now account for 7% of all gifting, up from a 6% baseline. Together, these signals suggest that shoppers aren't just picking out presents. They're writing deeply personal messages about what their mothers, wives, and grandmothers mean to them.
Families are pouring their hearts out. Nearly half of all gifts this week, 48%, came from family members. Notes full of love accounted for 42% of all sentiment, up from 39% over the past month. One pattern keeps showing up in the messages: families telling mothers they're grateful not just for a single moment, but for years of quiet, steady care. These aren't obligatory holiday gestures. They're emotional ones.
The loving sentiment trajectory tells the story clearly. It has climbed for four straight weeks, and this week reached its highest share of the spring. Shoppers are writing longer, more specific notes. The average gift message hit 16.5 words, and many of the Mother's Day notes ran well beyond that.
Canada Stands Out as a Thank-You Market
Not every country approaches the Mother's Day window the same way. In the United States, 23% of gifts this week tied to a seasonal holiday, with congratulations gifts and new baby gifts rounding out the occasion mix. Australia followed a similar pattern, with 20% of gifts in the seasonal category.
But Canada charted its own course entirely. Forty-two percent of Canadian gifts this week were thank-you gifts, far outpacing any other occasion. Birthday gifting, which leads in most countries, sat at just 26% in Canada. It's a striking contrast. While American shoppers lean toward the named holiday, Canadian shoppers seem to express the same Mother's Day impulse through a different category: gratitude without a label attached.
Malta, meanwhile, continued to punch above its weight. Accounting for 6% of all global gifting volume, the small island nation had 36% of its gifts tied to seasonal occasions. Families there are sending pearl jewelry and writing warm notes of celebration, leaning into the holiday earlier and more visibly than larger markets.
What This Means for Merchants
Two weeks is still a healthy runway. The surge this week confirms that shoppers are actively buying, not just browsing. For merchants selling jewelry, flowers, food gifts, or personalized items, the peak purchasing window is open right now.
The gratitude signal matters, too. Shoppers aren't just looking for a product. They're looking for a way to say thank you. Merchants who make it easy to add a heartfelt note, who feature gift-ready packaging, and who frame their products as expressions of appreciation rather than just objects are aligned with exactly what shoppers want this week. The emotional work is already happening in the gift notes. Smart stores make it easy for that feeling to arrive beautifully.
This week in gifting
14% of all gifts tied to a seasonal holiday, up from 10% baseline 86% of seasonal gifting pointed to Mother's Day 48% of all gifts came from family members 42% of Canadian gifts were thank-you gifts Grateful shoppers climbed five straight weeks 53% of gifts crossed a border
