PPAI Expo 2023, held in early January in Las Vegas, attracted the country’s biggest promotional product providers and distributors to showcase what’s in store for the coming year—everything from new products and apparel to event material and order programs.

As with the previous few years, 2023 includes a host of uncertainties that will impact this year’s buying habits. Post-pandemic behavior continues to influence decision making, forcing companies to be cautious about spending. Couple that with an increasingly fragile economy and it’s clear that budgets will suffer.

During the pandemic, everyone had to find a way to keep your employees and customers engaged in new and creative ways. At-home marketing campaigns and events became the new tradeshows and meetings, and small giveaways turned into home-delivered corporate gifts.

While some of these trends did start to fade as the world started to open up, a few did stick around and are predicted to become the new regular for promotional buying. One of the trends that seems to be enjoyed by everyone is the end of the day happy hour with coworkers

It seems like every event and meeting has a promotional product for you to take home. At this point, you probably have a box of branded products from every company you have interacted with. You get enough new products that you don’t know what to do with, and you can only find a use for so many water bottles and pens!

So, why not have a product that isn’t just useful for you but for your pet? Whether is is a corporate gift for a meeting or a trade show giveaway, pet promotional items make for a great gift for every type of client! Pet products make great promotional giveaways when they are useful too. Either way, sending someone something for their pet makes them feel like you care about their life outside of their business which leads to a better client relationship and loyalty.

Since the pandemic, companies have been having to elevate their new employee welcome kits as a way to encourage prospects to want to work for them and keep them on longer. As new team members start their onboarding process, that first week of their new job is important for employee retention to make them feel like they are part of the team. That first day of work is that new hire’s first impression of your company values.

For centuries, summer weekends have been spent going outside and taking a break from work. However, with new technology and new reasons to stay inside, it makes it hard to step away from your desk and give your brain a chance to recharge. As a team lead, this should scare you.