The story of promo’s revenue growth for most of 2024 was “modest growth.” But steady patience continued to pay off throughout the year, and after surpassing 2% growth year over year for the first time in August and September, that number continued to rise (modestly, once again) in October and November.

  • In October and November, industry revenue grew by 2.43% compared to the same two-month period in 2023.
  • This still lags slightly behind but draws tantalizingly close to catching up to the annual inflation rate of 2.7%.

This continual rise is a terrific way for the branded merchandise industry to reach toward the end of the year, but Alok Bhat, PPAI’s market economist and research lead, warns that a new year could threaten stability if the promo world does not prove itself to be nimble.

“As we pivot toward 2025, the focus sharpens on entering new markets, diversifying product lines, strengthening supply chains and aligning advocacy efforts with emerging trade policies to secure competitive advantages and foster sustainable growth,” Bhat says.

  • One distinction of note is that revenue growth was more pronounced for distributors. Of PPAI 100 distributors, 68.3% reported increases in sales revenue and 14.6% reported declining revenue.
  • Suppliers, on the other hand, saw only 36.6% report revenue growth and 43.9% reported declining revenue.


Of these supplier struggles, relative to distributors, Bhat says, “Despite these challenges, the gains achieved by the top segment have been substantial enough to offset these declines, illustrating a pivotal redistribution of market share that favors firms adopting aggressive growth strategies.”

Supplier Reaction

The promo industry can tend to rise and fall together when it comes to revenue trends, but it’s always important to remember that suppliers specializing in specific niches can have success or struggles that aren’t felt by the rest of the marketplace.

Jeff Roberts, CEO of iClick, PPAI 100’s No. 41 supplier, which specializes in mobile tech promotional products, says that the popularity of a few products has made a huge difference in revenue numbers, and allowed iClick to comfortably exceed the 2.43% growth the industry at large experienced in October and November.

“Our mobile tech category has seen a remarkable 22% year-over-year growth, driven largely by our MagSafe compatible product line, which has surged by 42% year over year for the same period and 122% year to date,” Roberts says. “We anticipate this trend will continue into 2025.”

  • Roberts says the company attributes that jump in MagSafe products to the Apple Stores launching the product nationwide at the beginning of 2025, making this a very new development that showed immediate dividends.
  • iClick’s overall rise in revenue growth in October and November was blunted slightly by a 3% year-over-year decline in the USB category, which was the company’s initial foray into promotional products in 2001.
Overall, our business is exceeding the industry average and beating inflation.”

Jeff Roberts

CEO, iClick

“Overall, our business is exceeding the industry average and beating inflation,” Roberts says.

Distributor Reaction

Ultimately, October and November were months that had enormous political ramifications as aggressive campaigns made their final pushes and Americans headed to the polls. When it comes to economic markets and even consumer spending, it is not unprecedented for the leadup of major political moments to cause more negative disruption than the actual aftermath. In that light, David Tate, president of Signet, PPAI 100’s No. 66 distributor, sees some reason for optimism.

“With the economic uncertainty during that period leading up to the election, I am encouraged with the 2.3% growth, not worried,” Tate says. “There is now a more positive economic outlook so let’s see where this goes.”

With the economic uncertainty during that period leading up to the election, I am encouraged with the 2.3% growth, not worried.”

David Tate

President, Signet

Indeed, “Economic Uncertainty” was cited as the most common business challenge among PPAI 100 distributors, with 80% of respondents claiming it played some part in navigating October and November.

There is also something to be said for the combination of promo’s usefulness with the trusted relationships built by distributors to navigate months when hesitancy and caution are weighing heavy on other industries. Only 14.6% of PPAI 100 distributors reported decline in order volumes during October and November and just 2.4% reported significant decreases in volume order.

“This indicates that while the market poses challenges, the impact is less severe compared to other sectors, allowing most firms to maintain or grow their market presence,” Bhat says.