Following a brief resurgence in August, demand for personal protective equipment in the promotional products industry has again dried up.

“Face masks” have fallen out of the top 10 list of most-searched items in ESP, ASI’s database of products from around the promo industry.

In October, “pens” was the most-searched term in ESP for the 11^th consecutive month. Industry staples like “mugs,” “water bottle,” “tumbler” and “tote bags” rounded out the top five. As North America prepares for colder temperatures, “mugs” moved up five spots, increasing 40% in searches over the past month. Relatedly, “blanket” jumped from 10^th to sixth place with a search increase of 25%.

Searches for masks fell 39% in October compared to September. PPE searches surged during the summer with the delta wave, with “disposable face mask” and “face masks” climbing 562% and 414%, respectively, in August compared to July. Last month disposable face masks fell 59%, though “face masks” remained a Top 10 search term. Not in October.

39%
Percent decrease in ESP mask searches during October compared to the previous month.

“While PPE is still around, its overall importance to our industry is definitely waning,” says Nate Kucsma, ASI’s executive director of research and corporate marketing. “Looking into the back half of Q4 and into 2022, it’s safe to say that traditional promo is back. The only question is, what’s next?”

Now that Q4 is underway, distributors are preparing for the holiday season. Searches for “Christmas ornaments” and “gift set” were up 71% and 54%, respectively. Meanwhile, searches for “Halloween” were down 73%. Perhaps inspired by the charcuterie demonstration during the ASI Power Summit and related demand for holiday gifts for the home, searches for “cutting board” increased 27%.