There is confidence growing among the promotional market companies that met at PTE 2023. This optimism is anticipated by the data of the Promotion magazine survey carried out in cooperation with the event and Assoprom, between the end of December and the beginning of January, and presented at the trade fair.

"The industry needs data", said Emanuele Guido, Strategic Marketing Director of Fiera Milano. And the figures are indeed encouraging. Overall, 84% of buyers of promotional products say they will increase their investments during the year. The indication from the end-user companies is also positive: about 60 per cent of managers say they will spend more in 2023 than last year. Considering the times, characterised by inflation and the increase in energy and raw material prices, the figure seems to confirm the value of the sector that can boost sales and strengthen relations among companies, suppliers and customers, as pointed out by Rosanna Corvasce, Vice-President of Assoprom and representative of the company Emo Servizi.

A total of 156 companies responded to the survey, including 98 operators and 58 end-user companies, representing very heterogeneous sectors. “This is a sign,” said Andrea Demodena, Promotion Magazine's director, “that promotional products are bought by everyone.”

Which products will be purchased the most in 2023? For more than 70 per cent of the agencies, retailers and customisers (basically PTE visitors), textiles come first. This is followed by shopping bags (more than one in two will buy them), leisure articles, consumer electronics and luggage. Printing and personalisation machines also did very well: overall they are planned by more than 35% of the operators. The intention of the end-user company managers is in line with this. However, there are several elements that weigh in the choice of a product and/or supplier. For retailers and agencies, it is mainly delivery times (past problems with sourcing from the Far East have affected responses); on the other side, for managers safety and certifications come first and environmental impact is also very important.

In this regard, the survey investigated whether retailers/agencies and companies are willing to spend more for a sustainable product, and the answer was even and positive for 76.3% of the operators and about 70% of the managers.