10 
100
Brands ranked UK Gift Ecommerce: who’s winning search in 2026 (and what it says about shoppers)
If you sell gifts in the UK, you’re playing in one of the most seasonally spiky, emotionally driven corners of ecommerce. This 2026 UK Gift Ecommerce Industry Analysis distils the key numbers from our latest Gifts Salience Index and turns them into a practical context you can use.
You’ll see who’s built durable visibility, which brands have real-world pull (brand searches + social), and how search behaviour is shifting across big moments (Valentine’s, Father’s Day, Christmas) and year-round gifting. I’ll spotlight why the fastest-growing gift shops are deliberately inefficient — with examples from Lisa Angel, Card Factory, and No Ordinary Gift.
Want all the data? Get the free 69-page report — it includes the complete tables, quadrant charts and keyword sets for your team.
Market pulse in one line
The market grew by 13% year-on-year on organic visibility. That’s the backdrop for everything below. Growth is there to be won — but where it lands depends on how well you match intent across busy seasonal peaks and the weeks in between.
Which gift ecommerce brands lead organic visibility in 2026?
Traffic Scores (Top 20)
| Rank | Brand | YoY Pos Change | Visibility Nov ’25 | Visibility Nov ’24 | YoY Change | vs Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | moonpig.com | – | 1,708,693 | 1,526,068 | +12% | −1% |
| 2 | cardfactory.co.uk | +3 | 1,153,454 | 687,802 | +68% | +55% |
| 3 | thewhitecompany.com | +1 | 778,812 | 710,315 | +10% | −3% |
| 4 | virginexperiencedays.co.uk | −1 | 743,557 | 785,961 | −5% | −18% |
| 5 | notonthehighstreet.com | −3 | 741,214 | 977,153 | −24% | −37% |
| 6 | buyagift.co.uk | – | 555,669 | 378,080 | +47% | +34% |
| 7 | menkind.co.uk | – | 510,969 | 359,648 | +42% | +29% |
| 8 | photobox.co.uk | +2 | 368,747 | 301,303 | +22% | +9% |
| 9 | snapfish.co.uk | −1 | 347,517 | 321,583 | +8% | −5% |
| 10 | funkypigeon.com | −1 | 331,618 | 315,865 | +5% | −8% |
| 11 | cadburygiftsdirect.co.uk | – | 267,528 | 241,086 | +11% | −2% |
| 12 | redletterdays.co.uk | +2 | 198,533 | 134,595 | +48% | +35% |
| 13 | findmeagift.co.uk | −1 | 139,614 | 163,486 | −15% | −28% |
| 14 | lisaangel.co.uk | +11 | 119,253 | 72,570 | +64% | +51% |
| 15 | iwantoneofthose.com | +8 | 102,437 | 77,681 | +32% | +19% |
| 16 | wonderdays.co.uk | +2 | 98,907 | 98,576 | ~0% | −13% |
| 17 | zavvi.com | +2 | 91,548 | 96,602 | −5% | −18% |
| 18 | thegiftexperience.co.uk | +6 | 90,848 | 73,660 | +23% | +10% |
| 19 | asdagiftcards.com | −3 | 89,611 | 101,418 | −12% | −25% |
| 20 | wickeduncle.co.uk | −3 | 80,569 | 99,518 | −19% | −32% |
What the table tells us
Two big signals pop out. First, established powerhouses like Moonpig and The White Company keep their footing, but the real movement sits with Card Factory (+68%) and mid-market brands like Buyagift (+47%), Menkind (+42%) and Red Letter Days (+48%). That blend of brand equity, fresh category coverage and technical tidiness appears to be the winning combo here.
Second, a handful of famous names take a hit (Not On The High Street −24%). Breadth alone doesn’t guarantee visibility. When intent fragments and product discovery sprawls across SERPs, social and marketplaces, the brands getting ahead tend to be those rebuilding their information architecture and content around how people actually shop gifts now — by occasion, recipient, budget, delivery promise and returns confidence.
The bigger picture
Search behaviour for gifts is widening. People hop between inspiration and transaction in minutes. Generations split: younger shoppers start on social; older segments still begin with generic queries but adopt brand searches once reassured on delivery, returns and quality. The winners above map their site experience to those journeys (clear category paths, strong PDP answers, trust copy that removes doubt). That’s also why some “experience day” players (Virgin Experience Days, Red Letter Days, WonderDays) hold ground. Their value proposition is clear and comparison-ready.
Where is the market expanding or contracting?
Industry variance this year sits at +13%. That means the average site in our index grew visibility year-on-year. But “average” hides the spread. We also see triple-digit risers lower down the table (e.g., Rex London +103%) alongside sharp declines for certain gift specialists. The tide is rising, but currents matter. Categories tied to seasonal gifting and quick delivery promises continue to pull ahead.
Which brands over- or under-index on brand awareness?
Brand Awareness Leaders (Monthly brand searches & owned social score)
| Rank | Brand | Brand Searches (UK) | Owned Social Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | notonthehighstreet.com | 368,000 | 3,735 |
| 2 | moonpig.com | 1,220,000 | 480 |
| 3 | thewhitecompany.com | 301,000 | 1,047 |
| 4 | photobox.co.uk | 165,000 | 1,866 |
| 5 | cardfactory.co.uk | 450,000 | 230 |
| 6 | buyagift.co.uk | 201,000 | 349 |
| 7 | funkypigeon.com | 301,000 | 211 |
| 8 | zavvi.com | 74,000 | 717 |
| 9 | chopard.com | 9,900 | 5,121 |
| 10 | virginexperiencedays.co.uk | 165,000 | 293 |
| 11 | snapfish.co.uk | 135,000 | 284 |
| 12 | truffleshuffle.co.uk | 40,500 | 436 |
| 13 | menkind.co.uk | 90,500 | 131 |
| 14 | redletterdays.co.uk | 90,500 | 129 |
| 15 | firebox.com | 18,100 | 415 |
| 16 | zazzle.co.uk | 27,100 | 219 |
| 17 | lisaangel.co.uk | 22,200 | 202 |
| 18 | rexlondon.com | 14,800 | 244 |
| 19 | experiencedays.co.uk | 27,100 | 112 |
| 20 | uncommongoods.com | 1,900 | 1,116 |
Analysis
Brand demand doesn’t always travel with organic reach. Moonpig dwarfs everyone on brand searches, but others like Not On The High Street and The White Company blend decent brand recall with strong owned social. Chopard is the outlier. Modest UK search demand but a muscular social footprint. This implies two things. First, social-led inspiration is feeding gift discovery faster than last year, especially for higher-consideration and luxury segments. Second, brands with leaner social followings but strong search coverage (e.g., Card Factory) are still converting thanks to utility. Breadth of categories, price clarity, and delivery confidence.
On the flip side, several experience-day and novelty brands carry smaller social bases relative to their search footprint. That’s an opportunity. A more coherent owned-audience plan (email + social) makes seasonal peaks less volatile and helps retain the new eyeballs you win in November and December.
What do reviews tell us about trust in the gift market?
Most-reviewed brands (sample)
| Rank | Brand | No. of Reviews | Avg. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | menkind.co.uk | 502,600 | 4.2 |
| 2 | snapfish.co.uk | 165,269 | 4.3 |
| 3 | findmeagift.co.uk | 41,011 | 4.1 |
| 4 | funkypigeon.com | 320,386 | 4.0 |
| 5 | zavvi.com | 52,067 | 3.8 |
| 6 | photobox.co.uk | 151,940 | 4.0 |
| 7 | buyagift.co.uk | 60,176 | 3.7 |
| 8 | virginexperiencedays.co.uk | 54,949 | 4.2 |
| 9 | boutiquegifts.co.uk | 3,291 | 4.6 |
Analysis
Volume helps, but recency and response speed matter more to buyers of gifts. Shoppers scan reviews right before purchase and expect timely replies to complaints. In a category where gifts can be time-sensitive and emotional, brands with clean fulfilment and thoughtful customer-care playbooks get disproportionate credit in reviews, which feeds click-through and conversions during crunch time.
Which gift keywords are emerging (and which are fading)?
Emerging product topics
| Keyword | UK Monthly Searches | YoY Trend |
|---|---|---|
| funny valentines gifts for him | 880 | +396% |
| copper anniversary gifts for wife | 50 | +393% |
| valentines day for men | 1,600 | +157% |
| 40th birthday jewellery for her | 210 | +158% |
| wine gifts for men | 260 | +255% |
| good valentine’s gifts for her | 1,300 | +100% |
| secret santa female gifts | 2,400 | +75% |
| nice mothers day gifts | 3,600 | +74% |
| dad fathers day gifts | 90,500 | +23% |
| gift boxes for women | 1,900 | +29% |
Receding product topics
| Keyword | UK Monthly Searches | YoY Trend |
|---|---|---|
| gifts for her | 90,500 | −29% |
| gifts for him | 40,500 | −29% |
| birthday gifts for him | 18,100 | −33% |
| gifts for girlfriend | 18,100 | −33% |
| gifts for teenage girls | 14,800 | −21% |
Emerging brands (search demand)
| Brand | UK Monthly Searches | YoY Trend |
|---|---|---|
| card factory | 450,000 | +6% |
| menkind | 90,500 | +22% |
| lisa angel | 22,200 | +8% |
| temptation gifts | 14,800 | +15% |
| wicked uncle | 14,800 | +12% |
| rex london | 14,800 | +6% |
| chopard | 9,900 | +3% |
| into the blue | 6,600 | +19% |
| bags of love | 3,600 | +7% |
| gift company | 2,900 | +22% |
Generic “gifts for her/him” terms are declining while specific, moment-led and recipient-nuanced terms surge. That’s classic intent unbundling. People don’t want a haystack, they want the idea that fits a brief (budget, relationship, taste, timeframe). You see that in the Valentine’s cluster too. Faster growth in targeted ideas over catch-all phrases.
Brands should treat this as a cue to improve the pathways between inspiration and purchase:
- Build seasonal hubs that actually help people choose (filters by relationship, personality and price work harder than ever).
- Keep bundles and guides fresh year-round, not only for Q4.
- Make delivery promises and return policies visible from the first click.
Why the Fastest-Growing Gift Shops Are Deliberately Inefficient
A tiny Oxfordshire workshop sells personalised leather bookmarks. Each one is hand-engraved to order, takes 1–2 days to dispatch, and carries this promise: “If you’re not 100% happy, return it free of charge.” Free returns on personalised items violates ecommerce orthodoxy. You can’t resell a bookmark engraved with “James & Sophie.” The conventional wisdom says personalised products must be final sale. Last year, No Ordinary Gift’s organic visibility grew 151%.
Fifty miles away, a Norwich jewellery boutique called Lisa Angel warned customers that items are hand-made and take longer to ship. They deliberately limited their product catalogue while competitors expanded. They put the founder’s photo on the home page, admitting they’re small and independent. Their visibility grew 64%, outperforming the market by 51 percentage points.
In Greater Manchester, Card Factory, a budget high-street chain selling greeting cards, added countdown timers to £2.99 products. “Order in the next 4 hours 13 minutes for dispatch today.” Urgency mechanics are supposed to be for luxury limited releases, not cards that cost less than a coffee. Card Factory’s online visibility exploded 68%. They jumped to #2 in the entire UK gift sector.
These brands are doing everything wrong according to standard ecommerce playbooks. Yet all three are winning. The question is, why? Read the full article here.
Gift ecommerce is becoming less about generic “for him/for her” and more about fit, speed and confidence. If your site structure, copy and trust signals make choosing easy, you’ll ride the market growth rather than watch it from the sidelines.
