Cards and gifts bought in 2026 carry habits from 2020. Lockdowns closed card shops, cancelled parties, and moved orders online. Paper cards did not disappear. Digital messages did not replace them. The result is a market where a paper card and a shipped gift arrive together, and a text or video sits next to the card.
What changed in 2020
- Store closures. Card and gift shops shut for weeks. Orders moved to websites and phone calls.
- Gathering limits. CDC guidance in March 2020 capped gatherings at 50 people, then 10.
- Video calls. Zoom reported 10 million daily meeting participants in December 2019 and 300 million in April 2020.
- Shipping. USPS package volume rose from 6.2 billion pieces in FY2019 to 7.3 billion in FY2020. Total mail volume fell.
Trends still in the 2026 market
- Cards sent by mail. Buyers treat a mailed card as a gift, not a formality.
- Gratitude cards. Nurses, teachers, delivery drivers, and neighbors got cards in 2020. The category stayed.
- Sympathy cards. Funeral sizes were capped. Cards carried what a handshake could not.
- Photo cards. Home printers and print services turn family photos into birthday and holiday cards.
- Card and gift bundles. One order, one shipment. Cards paired with gift cards, candles, seeds, and mugs.
- Distance cards. Miss-you and wish-you-were-here designs keep shelf space.
- Small-batch design. Independent illustrators sell runs of 25 to 100 cards.
- Digital plus paper. A paper card mailed, a video or text sent the same day.
What faded
Drive-by birthday parades. Porch parades. Zoom parties with 40 attendees. Elbow bumps. Most of these stopped by 2022. Two habits stayed: outdoor drop-offs of cards and gifts, and remote attendance at funerals and weddings.
What to stock in 2026
Four groups cover most of the demand: birthday, sympathy, thank you, and thinking of you. Birthday cards hold the largest share of unit sales. The Greeting Card Association puts US card purchases at about 6.5 billion units a year. Blank cards sell to buyers who write long notes. A2 cards measure 4.25 by 5.5 inches. A7 cards measure 5 by 7 inches. Both fit standard retail envelopes and standard card racks.
What is unknown
No public data set tracks monthly card sales by occasion after 2023. Figures for 2026 come from trade estimates and retailer reports. Numbers vary by source and by how digital cards are counted. Treat any single growth percentage with caution.