Greeting habits set in 2020 and 2021 still shape how people buy cards and gifts in 2026. Three changes held: paper cards mailed seven to ten days ahead, digital cards used for same-day sends, and gifts shipped from the store to the recipient. One change ended: the drive-by birthday parade.
What changed in 2020 and 2021
In-person visits stopped for most of 2020. Households sent cards instead. USPS moved 142.6 billion mail pieces in fiscal 2019 and 129.2 billion in fiscal 2020. That drop came from marketing mail, not from cards. Hallmark reported higher card sales in 2020. Video calls and text messages replaced parties. NRF counted $209 billion in US holiday e-commerce in 2020, up 32 percent from 2019. Gifts moved from store shelves to shipping boxes.
What holds in 2026
- Paper cards. The Greeting Card Association counts about 6.5 billion paper cards sold in the US each year.
- Early mailing. Senders who learned the 2020 delays now mail cards seven to ten days before the date.
- Send-to-door gifts. Buyers ship the gift from the retailer to the recipient and mail the card to the same address.
- Digital cards. Used for late sends and for recipients in other countries.
What faded
- Drive-by birthday parades. Common in 2020 and 2021, rare in 2026.
- Zoom parties for adults. Group video calls moved back to work use.
- Pandemic wording. Most card publishers dropped "quarantine," "social distancing," and "mask up" messages after 2021.
What is not known
No public dataset tracks the split between paper cards and digital cards in 2026. Card companies do not publish that number. Greeting Card Association counts cover paper cards.
What to stock for 2026
Flat cards sized for a standard A2 or A7 envelope. Blank interiors. Card-and-gift bundles that ship in one box. Photo cards for milestone birthdays. Cards with no date inside, so they sell past the holiday.