Mid-Year Look at 2022 Trends

2022 has been a whirlwind, and as we approach the halfway point of this year, let’s take a look at the promo product trends we’ve seen so far and make some predictions about what’s to come.

At the beginning of 2022, the promo industry saw a decline in the popularity of items that dominated most of the last two years. Masks, sanitizers, and other personal care items were no longer flying off the shelves. Many experts predicted a return to traditionally popular items such as apparel and drinkware, and an increase in demand for home office and tech accessories as a large portion of the workforce continued to work from home. Bags were another category that seemed to be on the rise in early 2022.

Here at Mapleleaf, we have seen a majority of these predictions come to fruition in the first 6 months of 2022:

Caps have been the most frequently ordered promo category, representing a whopping 33.7% of our promo orders. As predicted, wearable promo is back in a big way; and we expect the cap craze to continue through the summer months.

In second place are bags, representing about 14% of orders. Tote bags have been the most popular choice, which is no surprise as we are seeing a huge cultural push away from single-use plastics in favour of reusable alternatives. We expect the domination by tote bags to continue as legislation comes into effect in many places across North America banning single-use plastics, and many large chains opt to discontinue their plastic shopping bags completely.

Battling it out for third place, we have two promo classics, t-shirts (7.5%) and drinkware (6.8%). These two players are making their rise back to the top, just as predicted at the beginning of 2022.

T-shirts are the quintessential promotional apparel item, so it’s no surprise that they’re sitting pretty in third place. As CommonSKU noted in this spring 2022 article, branded apparel has become highly desirable as a fashion statement and a form of self-expression. Brands have seen huge demand for their wearable merch, and t-shirts are a versatile and affordable staple in almost any merch line. T-shirts also garner a whopping average of 3400 impressions in their lifetimes, so it’s safe to say these heavy-hitters will maintain their position in the top five for the second half of this year.

Drinkware has returned to its former glory, with travel-friendly bottles and mugs being the fan-favourite. Travel cups are handy to have, no matter if you’re commuting to your job or working from home. And because they can be brought out and about, there are constantly opportunities to create new impressions!

Finally, the fifth most popular promo category in the first half of 2022 is... keychains! A return to in-person or hybrid conferences, trade shows, and other industry events has created a need for small giveaway items, and keychains are a prime go-to. Small trinkets are also easily mailed, making them a great option to send out to your long-distance contacts! Following this trend, we predict an increase in the popularity of other small giveaway items like pens, magnets, and small tech accessories.