After a “cuckoo bananas” year – the technical term for 2025, as ASI Media’s Sara Lavenduski put it – the promo industry seemed to be overrun with optimism as ASI Orlando Education Day wrapped up.

During the day’s concluding session, ASI Research conducted real-time flash polling among attending distributors that revealed an overwhelming 93% are projecting sales increases in 2026 compared with 2025. Just 5% and 3% predicted flat and declined sales, respectively.

It’s a deviation from early data ASI Research collected on 2025 sales for the industry as a whole, which were up about $1.1 billion in 2025, climbing to $27.7 billion compared to $26.6 billion in 2024. It’s noteworthy, though, that nearly nine in 10 distributors raised prices midway through the year to account for tariff increases – a trend that likely explains at least some of 2025’s rise in sales numbers.

Still, promo has taken to 2026 with enthusiasm. Distributors were also asked if they offered print on demand (POD) to their clients, and nearly 90% reported that they already do, or are planning to offer the service in 2026.

Success in leveraging the growing POD sector is dependent on hefty knowledge of how the technology works – and, importantly, on automation, shared Dave Conner, director of product marketing at Stahls’ (asi/88984) and one of ASI Show Orlando’s Education Day speakers.

“Everybody these days can print a T-shirt,” he said during the wrap-up speaker roundup. “Not everybody can manage a fulfillment service.”

Similarly, a third poll found that attending distributors were overwhelmingly likely to report that AI would positively impact their businesses in the coming year, with 88% projecting a positive impact compared with just 1% estimating a negative impact.

Amid the polling, the wrap-up session also spotlighted a few short takeaways from each Education Day speaker. Denise Gustavson, editorial director at PRINTING United Alliance, for example, focused on knocking down print myths to help promo distributors grow into the expansive world of print through strategic partnerships.

“Print is not as intimidating or confusing as people may think it is,” Gustavson said. “It’s really manageable when you understand its purpose and lean on the right partners.”

Kevin Baumgart of Sales Ink highlighted the importance of “doing fewer things better” in his session “Niches Make Riches: How To Stand Out in a Crowded Market.” Specifically, he shared, drilling down on key client verticals can help to both grow your expertise as a distributor partner with deep industry knowledge and to find pockets of lower competition and higher profit.