PPB June 2021

PPAI Exclusive Research: 2020 Distributor Sales Volume Estimate | FEATURE Figure 5: U.S. Distributor Business with Non-Industry Suppliers, 2015 – 2020 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 12.9% 13.2% 14.6% 15.2% 14.9% 15.1% Figure 6: Sales Volume Sourced from Non-Industry Suppliers In 2020 SHOWN IN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TOTAL SALES VOLUME $2.9B $1.7B SMALL DISTRIBUTORS (<$2.5M) LARGE DISTRIBUTORS (>$2.5M) $1.2B -18.0% -25.0% -5.3% Retail Branded Product Sales Sales of retail branded products are estimated to be $4.35 billion or 22.2 percent of the industry total sales in 2020 (see Figure 9 ). This represents an 18.7-percent decrease over 2019 and refers to brand-name, consumer-facing products that add a sense of distinction to incentive and recognition programs as well as individual end-user gifts. Examples include Yeti, Maui Jim, TUMI, Nikon and many more. SalesOf Sustainable Products For the first time in the 2019 sales volume survey, a question was asked about sales of sustainable products. In the 2020 survey, that category also declined by 18 percent compared with 2019 and is estimated to be $22.8 billion or 11.7 percent of the industry total sales (see Figure 10 ). For this study, sustainable products sales are defined as the net sales of products marketed to consumers for their eco-friendly attributes either through production, use or disposal. Sales By Product Categories As expected, sales declined across most promotional product categories, but apparel still reigns as the biggest seller despite also experiencing a decline. Promotional apparel comprised 26 percent of total sales in 2020, followed by drinkware at 8.5 percent, fashion accessories at 5.8 percent, travel/bags at 5.2 percent, writing instruments at 4.9 percent, office products at 4.7 percent, tech products at 4.2 percent and awards at 3.4 percent to round out the top eight categories. Seven product categories reported growth in 2020 over 2019: Medical and Safety (105 percent) Other (72 percent) Home/Kitchen (38 percent) Hygiene and Grooming (35 percent) Packaging (27 percent) Labels (12 percent) Office (four percent) Figure 7: Percentage Of Online Sales Of Total Sales Volume, 2015-2020 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 19.0% 19.8% 23.2% 24.3% 18.6% 17.3% Figure 8: Sales Volume Sourced from Online Sales In 2020 SHOWN IN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TOTAL SALES VOLUME $3.4B $2.2B SMALL DISTRIBUTORS (<$2.5M) LARGE DISTRIBUTORS (>$2.5M) $1.2B -24.5% -32.6% -3.2% Figure 9: Sales Volume Sourced from Retail Branded Products In 2020 SHOWN IN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TOTAL SALES VOLUME $4.3B $2.2B SMALL DISTRIBUTORS (<$2.5M) LARGE DISTRIBUTORS (>$2.5M) $2.1B -18.7% -24.3% -12.0% Figure 10: Sales Volume Sourced from Sustainable Products In 2020 SHOWN IN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TOTAL SALES VOLUME $2.3B $1.1B SMALL DISTRIBUTORS (<$2.5M) LARGE DISTRIBUTORS (>$2.5M) $1.2B -18.0% -22.0% -14.1% | JUNE 2021 | 41