What matters most to Americans during tough times
With consumer sentiment recently reaching its second-lowest point in history (at the time of this article’s writing, it was at 60.7 points in June 2025, following the historical low of 50 points in June 2022) we were curious to dig into our archive and find out what Americans chose to frame during tough times — and by “tough times” we’re referring to when consumer sentiment is at its lowest. You may be wondering: why is this information important? It’s simple: by looking at what Americans chose to frame, we can learn about what is most meaningful to them. Because if you’re choosing to frame and display something on your walls, it must be extra special. Said differently, each photo we frame is a unique data point about what someone finds meaningful. Follow along as we analyze our order data between 2022 and 2025 to see how our customers’ sentiments changed over time, or what remained consistent.
Key takeaways:
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The top categories between 2022 to 2025 were consistent, showing what matters to people most doesn’t really waver: kids, romance, and pets.
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When consumer sentiment was at its lowest point in 2022, 30% of customers prioritized framing photos of babies and kids, while 25% of customers continued to frame romantic-related photos — totaling to more than half of our orders in 2022!
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Photos of people smiling seemed to be low in 2022, but slowly started increasing after January 2023. Other spikes in 2023 included outdoor and group photos.
Yearly comparisons
As mentioned earlier, when we’re referring to “tough times” we are referencing the U.S. consumer sentiment tracked by the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers — with June 2022 being the historical lowest and June 2025 being the second-lowest point.
Let’s take a closer look at what mattered to consumers most between these years. Based on the infographic below, it’s clear that even during tough times, photos of babies, kids, and romance were the most meaningful — totaling to at least 50% of our orders every year since 2022.
Another interesting thing we found is that photos of graduation consisted of 1.5% of orders between 2022 to 2024, then the category almost doubled to 2.9% in 2025. This is likely attributed to pandemic recovery and the ability to have in-person graduation ceremonies again and people finally feeling the excitement of this milestone again — five years after the COVID-19 pandemic first struck.
Love wins
Whether it’s love for your romantic partner, your children, or your pets, it seems that even during economic slumps, people care about their loved ones most. In 2022, a third of our customers continued to frame photos of their children, while a quarter of customers framed romantic shots with their partners! In third place were pets, taking up just under 15% of framed photos in 2022. The common denominator here? All the life forms we love most are the most important things in our daily lives, no matter what the economic climate is.
Recovering from tough times
When it comes to consumer sentiment recovering from a historical low point, it was interesting to see our total number of orders nearly triple from 2022 to 2023, justifying that economic recovery can indeed occur in a year or less! Although we’re at the second lowest point for consumer sentiment as of June 2025, it’s reassuring to know that recovery can be right around the corner too.
Looking back between 2022 and 2023, we also noticed a spike in these types of photos after January 2023:
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Smiling photos
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Group photos of more than one person pictured
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Outdoor photos
As a result of the pandemic, we found that more people started to go outdoors in 2023 with photos in nature increasing from 8.9% in 2022 to 12.7% in 2023 and 13.9% in 2024. This correlation shows what can help people power through tough times: surrounding yourself in nature with your favorite people. This can include your romantic partner, your family members, or your friends!
