What makes branded products worth keeping End buyers selected up to three reasons a branded product earns staying power. Source: PPAI End Buyer Survey Q41 Percent selecting Why branded merchandise gets discarded End buyers identified the leading reasons branded products fail to stay with recipients. Source: PPAI End Buyer Survey Q42 Percent selecting The Product Is The Brand Experience In branded merch, the product is the delivery vehicle for the brand as well as the brand experience. That matters because recipients judge the brand through the item itself. A high-quality, useful product can extend the life of a campaign. A low-quality or irrelevant product can do the opposite. End buyers in the survey were clear about what makes branded merch worth keeping. Nearly 8 out of 10 end buyers (79%) selected high quality as a reason a branded product is worth keeping. Usefulness in daily life followed at 47%, while good design was close behind at 46%. These findings show that buyers aren’t thinking only in terms of cost or distribution. They’re also focused on whether the item earns a place in someone’s routine. Becoming a part of someone’s daily life is what makes merch stand out against digital ads, emails and other marketing tools. A well-made and useful product can stay in someone’s routine for years, while an email might get archived in seconds. However, not all merch sticks around. When end buyers were asked what causes people to discard it, 59% pointed to poor quality. More than one-third (37%) said items are discarded because they aren’t useful, 36% said they’re irrelevant to the audience, and 32% cited poor design. “The next phase for branded merchandise isn’t just proving that it works. It’s building a clearer language for how it works through recall, appreciation, engagement, retention, lead quality and measurable campaign outcomes.” — Alok Bhat Must Read | Better Merch Is Better Marketing 46 • OCTOBER 2026 •
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