Non-Industry Suppliers Non-industry suppliers (defined as suppliers not affiliated with recognized organizations such as PPAI, ASI or SAGE), continue to make up a sizeable portion of sales. In 2025, they accounted for approximately $4.4 billion, or 16.3% of total industry sales. However, this is only a slight increase over 2024, which had shown a big jump from 2023, suggesting that growth outside of the industry is potentially leveling off. The reasons for going outside of the industry varied. Just over a third (37%) claimed to use local manufacturers or artisans, 34% went with consumer retail brands, 25% cited the general marketplace, 20% went to direct-from-overseas platforms and 28% cited “other.” AI Adoption: Practical, Not Yet Transformational There’s no question that AI applications have found use in the promo industry, and they increased in 2025, but the adoption of such technologies remain uneven and concentrated mostly among larger distributors. It would be more accurate to say that technology investments in 2025 were practical and efficiencyfocused for promo, as opposed to “transformational.” Where AI was adopted, it was primarily used for customer insights, CRM enhancement and operational automation. 35% 31% 60% 62% 68% 28% 2% 1% 4% 80 60 40 20 0 (%) Yes No Do not know Company Has Intergrated New Technologies (e.g., AI, AR, VR) Into The Marketing Or Selling Of Promotional Products in 2025: ■ Total ■ Over $2.5M ■ Under $2.5M $1.5B $2.3B $3.7B $1.2B $4.2B $3.4B $1.3B $2.3B $3.6B $1.2B $1.7B $3.0B $1.1B $1.7B $2.8B $1.8B $1.9B $3.7B $1.7B $2.6B $4.3B $1.8B $2.6B $4.4B 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2023 2024 2025 5 4 3 2 1 0 ($bn) Sales Volume With Non-Industry Suppliers, 2017-2025 ■ Under $2.5M ■ Over $2.5M PPAI • MARCH 2026 • 41 PPAI Sales Volume | Must Read
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