Branded merchandise market highlights
Have you ever wondered how big the branded merchandise market is?
The UK promotional merchandise industry is made up of companies of every size. From operations with a significant infrastructure and sales teams, to small entrepreneurial businesses, to lifestyle ventures – and everything in between!
We’ve taken some key statistics from Sourcing City and reveal sector size, market share and top product trends for 2023 in the UK and Ireland.
2023 promotional merchandise overview
The headline statistic for 2023 was that the overall promotional merchandise market grew by 4.2% (£47.5m) from £1,134m to £1,182m.
This is the first time the market has return to pre-Covid levels, with the pandemic having a significant impact on the economy, business activity and stock levels.
A total of 90 new distributors entered the sector, the majority of which have a turnover of less than £500k.
Smaller distributors turning over less than £250k continue to make up the majority of market share – 62.4% – and represent 10.8% of market spend. In the middle category of £500k to £1m, distributors account for 8.4% of market share, contributing 13.7% of total spend.
Companies over £1m turnover represent 59% of the market spend but are only 6% of all the distributor companies. To achieve such performance often relies on a number of large accounts, and these big brands are operating more like ecommerce businesses that do not need to provide 121 consultancy.
Conversely, 41% of the market spend is shared amongst 2,583 distributor companies. Whilst these smaller distributor companies may have a few larger ‘key accounts’, they tend to have numerous ‘small customer accounts’. Should some of these ‘small customer account’ companies change their buying patterns, it tends to have a lesser effect.
The number of UK suppliers has dropped 1.2%. This compares to a 9.5% growth in 2019 – the last full year before Covid took hold. Distributors continue to source largely from overseas.
Product trends
There has been a noticeable increase in the demand for sustainable products in all their ethical criteria’s. Suppliers have responded, and the majority of new products coming to market have a sustainable claim. The challenge is being sure that the products are truly eco-friendly and filtering out any that may simply be ‘green washing’.
This is why, when discussing sustainable options with clients, we look beyond the material and manufacturing process, but also the carbon footprint of deliver.
As a result, it’s no surprise that eco-friendly ideas topped the 2023 list of most in-demand product groups.
Top 5 product groups for 2023 were…
- Eco friendly ideas – c. £114m
- Exhibition giveaways – c. £102m
- Desk gifts – c. £96m
- Drink related – c. £86m
- Travel related – c. £77m
Top 10 products for 2023 were…
- Bag – c. £85m
- Pen – c. £74m
- Sports drink bottle – c. £52m
- Travel mug – c. £47m
- Jotter – c. £42m
- Keyring
- Mug
- Charger
- Notepad
- Seeds
In case you’re interested to know too, the most popular order month was March, with December being the least popular order month.
So how does etc. Branding compare? Well, thanks to our loyal customers, referrals and continued growth, we are almost at the £1m turnover mark, joining medium-sized distributors and increasing our market share.
And while growth is of course a key objective for us, our core value will remain the same – providing expert and tailored advice to come up with creative solutions for our clients.
