2023 Promo: A Year In Review

2023 is coming to an end, and as we look back over the past 12 months, we see many trends that have dominated the promo scene this year.

Promo trends often reflect wider fashion or product trends. For example, popular colours, dominant clothing styles, and hot brands will always seep into the promotional products space – after all, businesses have to give people what they want, and what they are most likely to use or wear at a certain period in time!

In 2023, we saw a wave of browns, beiges, and greens dominating pretty much everything, as consumers showed a strong preference for products in earth tones. At the same time, the popularity of athleisure apparel remained steady – a trend that’s been prominent since the pandemic. This year, we saw these two trends combine, creating an environment where a customized beige sweatshirt or green baseball cap could be an incredibly effective promo product.

Business audiences often have different relationships with promo items than they would with other products, which can create unique trends within the promo industry. Promo items face the unique challenge of being on trend, while also presenting novelty and a personalized quality that allow them to draw attention to your brand and create a genuine connection between your business and its audience. Promo products might be consumer items, but they can also be branded gifts, employee uniforms, donated supplies, handy tools, and many other things. This variation in what a promotional product can be, as well as the high demands that promotional items must meet to be successful, contributes to the trends that the promo industry experiences.

Sustainability continued to be an important trend in all industries through 2023, and this resulted in the increased exploration of products made with alternative materials, including recycled paper and plastics, bamboo, cork, hemp, and other sustainable resources. The most notable manifestation of this trend within the promo industry was the widespread abandonment of single-use plastic shopping bags in favour of reusable alternatives. Retailers of all sizes made a shift toward reusable fabric or in some cases paper shopping bags to offer their customers. As a result, tote bags were a massive promo item in 2023. Totes have become an important everyday item and present a novel opportunity for self-expression, and bag designs have become more creative as businesses battle to be the one their customers reach for when they head out to the mall or grocery store.

Finally, in 2023, the importance of influencer marketing to the promo industry reached new heights. Now more than ever, social media users are turning to influencers for cues on what to buy, what to wear, what brands to support, and so much more – and it’s not just Gen-Z anymore. Sure, we all know that influencer partnerships can help businesses reach their younger target audiences in a more palatable way than a regular online ad, but what we have learned is that they are now becoming more effective with older audiences as well! We are also seeing social media influencers taking advantage of the power of promo for themselves by launching stylish merch lines of their own.

These are just some of the trends that have shaped the promo landscape in 2023. And now that the year is coming to a close, it’s time to start thinking about what may be in store for us in 2024. Whatever it is, we’re ready to meet the challenge and continue providing your business with trendy, all-in promo solutions in the coming year!