The South Leads The Charge In Sales Of Promotional Products

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May 04, 2017, 19:12 ET

TREVOSE, Pa., May 4, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new study published by Advantages^® magazine reports businesses and organizations in the Southern region of the U.S. led the nation in money spent on logoed promotional products, with total 2016 sales of $8.2 billion showing 5.6% growth.

And, according to the 2017 Advantages State and Regional Report, overall sales of promotional products in the West grew by 4%, for a total of $4.9 billion. Big sectors in the West include hospitality, entertainment and tech companies.

Advantages, published by the Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI), is the leading B-to-B publication for distributor salespeople in the promotional products industry. Nationally, total distributor sales increased by 3.1% in 2016, to $22.9 billion, continuing a seven-year upward trend.

The South remains the largest and most lucrative region for sales of promo products in the U.S. Florida (5.6% growth) and Texas (up 4.7%) alone account for over $4 billion in sales of products like logoed T-shirts, pens and mugs typically given away by companies, schools and nonprofits to promote their brand, advertise an event or reward employees and clients.

According to Advantages, the technology industry accounted for approximately 4% of promo products sales in 2016, and represented the largest percentage of revenue for distributors earning $1 million to $10 million in annual sales.

Below are additional highlights:

West: Sales in Utah alone surged by 6.5%, for a total of $282 million, thanks to a burgeoning tech sector. However, nearly 40% of the West is tied up in California, which saw only modest growth of 2.5%.
Midwest: The region grew only 1.3%, for a total of $4.8 billion. South Dakota, the smallest state by revenue, grew the most at 2.8%, while the two largest states (Illinois and Ohio) posted declining revenues, at -0.9% and -0.2%, respectively.
East: Sales in the East grew just 1%, for a total $5.1 billion. Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut, which account for nearly half of the revenue in the region, continue to struggle.

Revenue estimates are derived in part from distributor sales in each state, population trends, health of regional industries, state GDP growth, unemployment rates, census figures and other key economic indicators.

About ASI
The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI^®) serves a network of 23,500 suppliers, distributors and decorators in the $22.9 billion promotional products industry.

SOURCE Advertising Specialty Institute