Thank-You Gifting Quietly Climbs to Its Highest Spring Share

Shoppers Are Saying Thank You More Than Any Other Point This Spring

Something is shifting in the way people gift this spring, and it has nothing to do with a holiday on the calendar. Thank-you gifts now account for 8% of all gifting, up from a 6% baseline. That might sound modest, but the trajectory tells a bigger story: the volume of thank-you gifts has nearly tripled over four weeks, climbing steadily each week through mid-April.

Shoppers writing notes full of appreciation are following the same arc. Grateful sentiment rose from 7% to 8% of all gift notes, and that number has grown every week for a month straight. These aren't shoppers checking a box for an occasion. They're choosing, unprompted, to say thanks.

Thank-you gifts nearly tripled in four weeks. Gratitude isn't a blip; it's building.

Gratitude Looks Different Depending on Where You Are

The thank-you trend is global, but it lands differently by country. In the Netherlands, the gifting mix leans heavily toward care and recognition: 16% of gifts are get-well, 14% are congratulations, and just 11% are for birthdays. Dutch shoppers are choosing to show up for people in transition, whether recovering, celebrating a win, or simply needing to know someone is thinking of them.

Compare that with the UK, where 60% of all gifting is birthday-driven, or Australia, where birthdays account for 55%. In those markets, the calendar dictates when people give. In the Netherlands, the impulse seems more personal. Friends there are sending love and encouragement to couples during difficult times with thoughtful gifts. It's gifting as a response to life, not a date.

For merchants with international customers, the takeaway is clear: occasion-driven marketing works in some markets, but care-driven messaging resonates in others. A get-well collection or a "just thinking of you" bundle could land powerfully in the Netherlands and similar markets where gratitude and empathy lead the gifting mix.

Mother's Day Is Pulling Gratitude Forward

With Mother's Day in North America, Australia, and New Zealand now two weeks away, 76% of all seasonal gifting already points to it. But the interesting wrinkle is how the gratitude trend intersects with the countdown. Family members make up 45% of all gift-givers this week. Many of them are writing notes that read less like "Happy Mother's Day" and more like "thank you for everything."

In Malta, children are sending birthday jewelry to their mothers with notes full of love. In the US, families are welcoming newborns with gifts that double as thank-you notes to new parents. New baby gifts hold steady at 9%, but the emotional tone around them has deepened. These aren't logistical gifts. They're expressions of gratitude wrapped in something tangible.

Necklaces and bracelets together account for 23% of all gifted products, and jewelry stores lead all industries at 24%. Much of that jewelry is moving through family relationships, carried by notes that say "I appreciate you" as much as "congratulations." The gift is the vessel; the thank-you is the point.

What This Means for Merchants

Most stores optimize for occasion-based gifting: birthdays, holidays, milestones. That makes sense when 32% of all gifts are for birthdays and seasonal events drive predictable spikes. But the four-week climb in thank-you gifting suggests a parallel lane that many merchants are leaving empty.

Shoppers who send thank-you gifts aren't responding to a reminder on their phone. They're acting on a feeling. That means they're browsing with intent but without a template. A dedicated "Say Thank You" collection, a gift note prompt that invites gratitude, or a curated bundle positioned as "for someone who deserves it" could meet these shoppers exactly where they are. The data says they're already there, and they're growing every week.