Why Shoppers Gift Varies Wildly by Country This Spring

In the United Kingdom this week, more than half of all gift notes were attached to birthday presents. In Australia, the number was even higher. But in the Netherlands, birthdays barely registered. Dutch shoppers were sending get-well gifts, sympathy gifts, and just-because surprises instead. Same week, same spring weather rolling in, completely different reasons to reach for the checkout button.

This split matters more than most merchants realize. When over half of all gifts cross a border, understanding why shoppers in different countries are gifting is just as important as knowing that they are.

In Australia, 52% of gifts were for birthdays. In the Netherlands, just 11%. The rest were gifts of care, comfort, and celebration.

Two very different gifting cultures, one week apart

The United Kingdom and Australia looked remarkably similar this week. Birthday gifting led both countries by a wide margin: 56% in the UK, 52% in Australia. In both places, just-because gifts filled in around a quarter of the remaining volume, with seasonal gifting (mostly Easter, which falls today) taking a smaller slice. A friend in Sydney sending a birthday book to a 23-year-old, a parent in London choosing a bracelet for their daughter. The notes were full of love and excitement, the occasions clear and celebratory.

The Netherlands told a different story entirely. Just-because gifts led at 38%, but what stood out was the mix underneath. Get-well gifts made up 21% of Dutch gifting. Congratulations gifts accounted for 19%. Sympathy gifts reached 11%. Taken together, nearly three-quarters of all Dutch gifting this week was about showing up for someone, whether in a moment of illness, loss, or quiet daily thoughtfulness. Birthdays, the dominant occasion almost everywhere else, sat at just 11%.

Malta offered its own contrast. With Easter falling today, 32% of Maltese gifting was seasonal, the highest share of any top country. Birthday gifts still led at 35%, but the holiday pull was unmistakable. Meanwhile, in the United States, the mix was more balanced: birthdays at 38%, just-because at 25%, seasonal at 17%, and new baby gifts at 11%.

New baby gifts keep climbing

One trend showed up across borders this week. New baby gifts rose to 10% of all gifting, up from an 8% average over the past month. The trajectory data shows this isn't a single-week bump. New baby gifting has climbed for three straight weeks, growing steadily from a lower base into a meaningful share of the weekly mix.

In the US, new baby gifts accounted for 11% of all gifting. Family members wrote notes that were deeply personal: a parent in the US sent a birthday book to their child with a note full of excitement about the year ahead. Another chose a rosary for their child, honoring a great-grandmother's faith. These weren't generic congratulations. They were family members marking the arrival of someone new with intention and care.

The sentiment data supports this. Notes full of love and kind, caring messages each accounted for 37% of all gift notes this week, running neck and neck. But the notes attached to new baby gifts skewed even warmer. Family members, who made up 45% of all gift senders this week, were the driving force behind this occasion's growth.

What this means for merchants

Most stores treat international orders as a logistics question. Shipping rates, delivery times, customs forms. But the gifting data this week suggests something more useful: shoppers in different countries are buying gifts for fundamentally different reasons. A store that sells candles might see birthday orders from Australia and get-well orders from the Netherlands in the same afternoon. The products might overlap, but the intent behind them is worlds apart.

For merchants with international customers, this is worth paying attention to. A gift note that says "hope you feel better soon" calls for a different unboxing experience than one that says "happy 30th!" Understanding the emotional context behind a purchase, not just the shipping address, is what separates a good gifting experience from a forgettable one. With 55% of gifts crossing borders this week and occasions varying sharply by country, the opportunity to tailor isn't just nice to have. It's a competitive edge hiding in plain sight.