Demand for traditional promotional products continued to rebound in the first quarter of 2021 after personal protective equipment (PPE) dominated the industry last year.

In February, “pens” were again the most-searched term in ESP, ASI’s database of products from around the promo industry.

Of course, there’s still demand for PPE, such as “face masks” and “hand sanitizer.” However, as a growing number of states have lifted pandemic-related restrictions over the past month, searches for “nitrile gloves” fell 44% and searches for “neck gaiter” were down 31%.

“Even though February was a brutal month for weather, it was a very promising month for promo products sales, as many traditional categories continue to rebound and set the stage for a strong Q2,” said Nate Kucsma, ASI’s executive director of research and corporate marketing.

Despite Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of six more weeks of winter, the data indicates that distributors and their clients are preparing for spring. Searches for “golf towel” jumped 92%. Similarly, searches for “picnic blanket” and “polo” were both up 87%. And with the NCAA’s annual big tournament rapidly approaching, searches for “basketball” increased 74%.