Deciding on how to stock your online company store, at times, may be difficult. With a seemingly endless array of options, how do you know what merchandise will excite your users and add value to their every day? How do you ensure you’re offering a selection of relevant and relatable items?
Consider starting with items that are trending in popularity, like phone accessories and fitness items. Staying on top of what’s popular provides your store with a consistent stream of promotional items that showcase your brand. Here are five trends that will benefit both you and your employees.
Trend 1: Creative Finishes or Styles
An emerging trend for 2019 is not necessarily a new promotional item, but rather a way to enhance everyday branded items. Unique finishes or styles, like a bright color for a sweatshirt or a matte finish on a coffee mug, are examples of new spins on classics. But how do these unique presentations of classic branded promotional items help with brand awareness? Creative styling can help catch someone’s eye while they’re browsing your online store. And, after these promotional items are purchased or given away, they can cultivate brand awareness through their novelty. Bright colors can help a branded shirt stand out in a crowd, while a matte finish on drinkware can provide a more elevated look to a widespread, yet useful, product.
Read More: 6 Benefits of Utilizing an Online Company Store for Branded Merchandise
Trend 2: Phone Accessories
Almost everyone has a mobile phone — from your employees to loyal fans of your brand to attendees at an event your company may be hosting. So, branded accessories for phones are a great promotional item. In fact, people keep portable chargers or mobile phone banks for as long as 12 months, making their staying power strong. Other items aligned with this trend include phone holders, phone wallets, and PopSockets. These promotional items enhance someone’s experience with their mobile device and can be distributed in a variety of situations: new employee kit, tradeshow handouts, or as a regular item for purchase in your store. Because everyone owns a phone, and more importantly, uses them daily, your company’s logo can be seen regularly as well!
Trend 3: Bundles and Kits
Packaging cohesive promotional items together in a bundle or kit is also becoming increasingly popular. With several branded items in one space, your company’s identity will be impossible to miss – especially in certain situations, like at a tradeshow or as a client gift. More items means more opportunities for your brand to be seen. You can also control what goes into your bundle or kit. Examples of common packages include office accessories like docking stations, note pads, and pens or travel items like ID holders, luggage tags, and mirrors. When you create kits like this, you decide the type of items that align properly with your brand. For example, a tech software company may create a “tech starter” kit with items like headphones, flash drives, and chargers bundled together.
Trend 4: Eco-Friendly Products
According to the Sense and Sustainability Study by Gibbs & Soell, three out of four consumers are more likely to purchase an item if it is eco-friendly. Those consumers include your employees and brand enthusiasts, and providing them with sustainable options helps improve your brand’s perception. The most common examples of promotional items like this include notebooks and pens made from recyclable materials and reusable shopping bags. Like items featured in other trends, many eco-friendly items are used in people’s everyday lives – proliferating your brand’s awareness. Couple that with the positive affect sustainability has on your brand’s perception, the eco-friendly trend is worth adding to your online company store.
Trend 5: Sports and Fitness items
With over 55 million gym members across the United States, more and more promotional items cater to fitness and sports-enthused recipients. Branded items like water bottles, phone bands, duffle bags, and hats, are leading examples of goods capitalizing on this trend. The potential reach of these promotional items is enormous, too. By offering them in your company store to anyone, your brand will be seen by your employees and brand advocates, while they are working out. They are also an excellent item for employee onboarding or gifts. And lastly, because many of these items are not just gym-specific, people can use them in their everyday lives as well, further increasing brand awareness. While trends continuously change, these five can serve as an inspiration to use for branded promotional items featured in your online company store. To start incorporating these trends, or for other information regarding online company stores, contact us today.
