5 Need-to-Know Insights From ASI’s 2025 State of the Industry Report

Every year, ASI’s media and research team conducts a comprehensive survey of hundreds of promotional products distributors and suppliers to find out product trends, biggest niche markets, the most significant challenges facing the industry and so much more.

The research is the starting point for our annual State of the Industry report, packed with actionable data, invaluable executive insights and incisive analysis. The entire package of stories and charts is well worth a read, but to whet your appetite, here are five of the most interesting findings from this year’s report.

1. T-Shirts Still Reign Supreme

T-shirts are once again the most-sold item in promo, making up 16.1% of the market, or $4.28 million in 2024 distributor sales. In fact, the top five items remained exactly the same from the year previous, with drinkware, polos, caps and bags rounding out the list.

Of note, however, is drinkware’s slight decline, which ends a three-year growth spurt. With the Stanley craze in the rearview and new tariffs on steel and aluminum in effect, the popular drinkware category may finally have reached its peak.

2. Education Remains a Top Market – But Challenges Loom

Just as with product categories, the top five markets for promo remained the same in 2024 as they were the year before: education, healthcare, construction, manufacturing/distribution and financial/insurance. Education, at the top of the heap, accounted for 13% – or $3.46 million – of promo market sales last year.

But 2025 has been a year of volatility, and tariffs, federal spending cuts as well as overall economic uncertainty are likely to have a significant impact on sectors like education, in particular.

3. Everyone Wants To Be a One-Stop Shop

Promo distributors are increasingly adding services beyond merely selling logoed items to clients. They’re offering graphic design, print and decoration services, e-commerce-fueled company stores, and kitting and fulfillment capabilities, to name a few.

In fact, 61% of distributors surveyed say they also sell printing services, while half report that they print and sell signs in addition to traditional promo products. Plus, the percentage of distributors offering company stores and kitting has increased each of the last two years. With end-buyers looking to streamline their buying process, the convergence of print and promo continues apace.

4. The Antidote to Anti-Swag Sentiment? Creativity and Consultative Selling

This year’s State of the Industry report found an increase in distributors worried about clients developing more negative attitudes toward promo, with 31% expressing that concern in 2025, as opposed to only 23% stating that fear in 2024.

Over the last few years, there’s been a small – but vocal – contingent of people decrying promo products, complaining that cheap swag is often made of virgin, likely nonrecyclable plastic that’s manufactured overseas and shipped to the U.S., thus contributing negatively to climate change. Plus, they say, many of the items given out end up in the landfill, rather than kept and cherished by recipients.

Distributors navigating those critiques have found a variety of solutions, including suggesting that clients use the same spend to buy fewer, higher-quality items, rather than blanketing a trade show with an overabundance of inexpensive products.

5. Made in America Is Having a Moment

While tariffs have caused widespread concern throughout the promo industry, they’ve undeniably stoked incredible interest in American-made promo products – beyond the typical bumps seen during election years. Nearly half – 47% – of promo suppliers say they’ve received an increase in requests from clients asking for Made-in-the-USA goods this year, compared to 2024.

Though the renewed focus in American manufacturing has been a boon for suppliers with stateside operations, it’s unlikely to shift the majority of branded merch production to U.S. soil. Available trained labor and access to raw materials are among the barriers to entry. However, suppliers making the investment in reshoring promo indicate automation, AI and robotics as key to their domestic manufacturing strategies.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions. Artificial Intelligence may have been used in part to create or edit this content.