Industry Sales $15.9 Billion for 2009
Monday February 22, 2010 | Filed under:
We recently announced industry sales results that reflect what we've been saying for months: while the industry took a major hit in 2009, the worst appears to be behind us.
ASI's exclusive annual industry sales estimate shows promotional products sales were $15.9 billion, down 19.5% versus 2008. The annual estimate is adjusted for certain year-end information, including distributors that exited the industry during 2009 and distributors that have not been part of ASI for the last 12 months.
While sales dropped, quarter-by-quarter declines throughout 2009 have slowed consistently. Fourth-quarter 2009 sales were off 9.7%, the lowest decline among the other three quarters.
Results also indicate that economic turbulence may be easing, with 34% of respondents reporting a year-over-year increase in sales during the fourth quarter. That is the largest percentage of respondents whose sales were up since the third quarter of 2008.
Better yet, there's solid evidence promotional products remain a great value among all advertising mediums. Spending on ad specialties for full-year 2009 is about double what marketers spent on radio advertising, about 26% larger than Internet advertising, and nearly four times greater than outdoor ads.
Click here to read the press release.
The general consensus from distributors is that it's time to seize the momentum we do have, increase marketing and grab market share. The pendulum will swing back -- and we need to be ready when it does.
I'd love to know what strategies you've employed in recent months and how you're positioning your company for the future so post a comment or email me here. I'm also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.