The promotional merchandise industry is continuing to grow despite talk of an economic downturn in the UK, according to new research.
The size of the market increased by four per cent between 2006 and 2007 to £859.4 million, with bags and folders representing the largest proportion of sales, closely followed by pens.
The research was carried out by promotional merchandise sourcing specialist Sourcing City and supported by the British Promotional Merchandise Association.
But Sourcing City managing director David Long added: “While the market is still showing upward trends, the future is not so clear given the current global credit crunch and the number of liquidations we have seen.
“The market is however seeing the emergence of new players, such as printers and stationery companies, who are moving towards promotional merchandising as they seek to diversify from markets with decimated margins.”
The research on the most popular promotional merchandise products and groups and their use was based on click-through enquiries by customers of Sourcing City’s website.
When the data was split by themed use, desk gifts took most of the market share in terms of both value and click-through enquiries. Travel-related items were second in the market before exhibition and pocket gifts.
Another high-flier was environmentally friendly products which came in at number four, including the Ecobutton, a computer power-saving device (pictured).