As 2024 is drawing to a close, it’s time to reflect on the trends that we saw throughout the year. By analyzing consumer preferences over the last 12 months, we find helpful clues about what’s to come – and of course, we share it with you, so that you can plan for the year ahead!

After an in-depth analysis of our product sales, we’ve unearthed our most popular product categories of the year, and some hints about the items we could see rise to promo prominence in 2025. So without further ado, here are our top 5 takeaways from promo in 2024.

1. 2024’s Top Promo Trend: Caps and Winter Hats Steal the Spotlight

Hats are our most popular promo category this year. Unsurprisingly, 2024 was dominated (once again) by the promotional cap. We’ve written about the ubiquity of caps in promo before, but it’s hard to truly capture their dominance in just one blog post. Put it this way - if you’re looking for a reliably successful product, you can’t go wrong with a cap.

We also want to give a shoutout to winter hats. Beanies and toques saw some love this year, and we’re here for it! After all, a high-quality headwarmer can be just the thing to get eyes on your brand in colder climates.

2. Tote Bags Take Center Stage in the Bag Category

Bags are big winners, but totes are carrying the team. Bags are another dominant presence in 2024 promo, but that’s all thanks to the good old tote bag. Totes have been hot for a while now, but our data suggests that they’ll be here to stay for some time to come. Our most popular totes? The Mid-Size and Shopper Tote, which are available in a variety of colors, and are perfect for offering as reusable shopping bags to your in-store customers!

3. Quality Over Quantity: Premium Promo Products Are in Demand

Consumers want quality and reputation, and businesses are listening. Insulated tumblers, engraved steak knives, and name-brand apparel showed up big time on our radar this year. And though these products fall into different categories, their popularity underscores a theme: in 2024, consumer audiences are looking for promo they can be proud to own. Products don’t have to be busy-looking or complex, but they need to be verifiably high-quality. Some businesses are using products from well-known retail brands so that they can benefit from those brands’ existing reputations, while others are simply opting for simple, sleek and well-made promo items to attract their audiences.

The point is that branded or not, a high quality and minimalistic promo item is a surefire way to earn your branded items a place in your customer’s hearts, homes and wardrobes in 2024.

4. Budget-Friendly Keychains: A Small Item with Big Impact

Keychains are a highly successful budget choice. Keychains are among our top five promo categories for this year. Budget-friendly, easy to mail, and available with a ton of unique features and designs, keychains afford businesses maximum creativity so they can pick the item that will best suit their audiences–all while keeping costs down. Bring them to industry events, pop them into shopping bags or customer orders, or send them in the mail. The possibilities are endless with a good keychain!

5. Outdoor Essentials on the Rise in 2024

Outdoor items, from sunglasses to umbrellas and snow/ice scrapers, grew in popularity this year. A seasonally appropriate outdoor accessory can generate countless brand impressions with just one use, so why shouldn’t they be a top promo category?

The cute and colorful Bodega Umbrella is one of our hottest outdoor products of the year, and we can hardly say that we’re surprised. With its fun and refreshing wine bottle-inspired design, there’s so much to love!

So there you have it, our key takeaways from 2024 promo. It’s been a wonderful year of making promo easy for our clients - and we can’t wait to do it again in 2025!