The past few months have been, in a word…bizarre.

It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before: illness, unemployment, social distancing, working from home while teaching, toilet paper shortages, injustice – you name it, all at the same time.

In this post, we’re going to talk about toilet paper.

Joking. We’re actually going to talk about clicky pens.

Kind of.

As a distributor of promotional products, we have a super impressive online database that warehouses a PLETHORA of products available for customization. It’s just one way we discover the perfect promo item for your specific branded merchandise needs.

For years, pens have been the top item searched in this massive search engine. But over the past year, we’ve seen a shift. A shift to…evidently a bunch of different types of face masks.

Everyone has a different comfort level with wearing masks, and all levels are acceptable. Whether we like them or not, masks are likely to be around for a while – might as well invest in some creative styles that people actually prefer wearing.

To recap the animated graph…

May 2019 top 12 requested items:

  1. Pens
  2. Water Bottles
  3. Tote Bags
  4. Lanyard
  5. Sunglasses
  6. Mugs
  7. Koozie
  8. Tumbler
  9. Coffee Mug
  10. Coaster
  11. Beach Towel
  12. Yeti

May 2020 top 12 requested items:

  1. Face Mask
  2. Hand Sanitizer
  3. Mask (face mask)
  4. Neck Gaiter (face mask)
  5. Pens
  6. Bandana (face mask)
  7. Face Shield (plastic face cover)
  8. Reusable Face Mask (face mask)
  9. Cotton Face Mask (face mask)
  10. No Touch Tool
  11. Water Bottle
  12. Cloth Face Mask (face mask)

Pens and water bottles are still trending – especially with personalized names on them.

Why?

Because no one should be sharing right now.