The U.S. is still 8.4 million jobs short of where it was pre-pandemic, but March brought unexpectedly good news. According to the Labor Department's most recent report, the U.S. economy added 916,000 jobs over the last month, far more than the 675,000 economists had projected. Some industries saw significant job growth...
Sean Norris
When we last checked in with Amazon Business in 2018, the B2B e-commerce marketplace was set to top $10 billion in annual sales just three years after it launched. Now, three years after that, annual sales on the platform have topped $25 billion worldwide. More than half of those sales came from third-party sellers...
One distributor's one-on-one meetings at a recent Promo Marketing virtual business development event led to $7,000 in orders after the supplier helped put together virtuals for a few of her clients. More than that, though, the meetings laid the groundwork for future business. Here's how...
Eugene Seroka, executive director for the Port of Los Angeles, said shipping volume is about to surge again over the next few weeks, continuing "into the spring and summer." And analysts are worried that the $1,400 checks issued as part of the Biden administration's $1.9 trillion stimulus package will make delays worse as Americans keep spending online...
In January 2020, Ampersand Group's Todd Mellon and his team officially launched The Power of One Group. The idea was simple: Create a robust directory of vendors in print, promo and office supplies, giving distributor members easy access to all three segments...
The PRO Act (H.R. 842), passed in the House with a 225-206 vote on Tuesday. The bill, intended to support workers in the gig economy by making it easier for them to unionize, would effectively eliminate independent contractor status on a nationwide level. The bill now heads to the Senate, though it is unlikely to...
We've watched BAMKO closely over the last year, as the distributor has been one of the promo industry's biggest success stories during the pandemic. Now, the company's full-year and Q4 results are in, giving us a complete picture of BAMKO's sales and providing some valuable insights for the rest of the industry...
Tullamore Dew, the Irish whiskey brand, is running a two-part St. Patrick's Day promotion it's calling "O'Everyone." One part involves some fun branded merchandise. The other involves legally changing your last name in exchange for a shot at winning a trip to a pop-up Irish pub in the middle of the desert, obviously...
The Biden administration announced temporary changes to the Paycheck Protection Program to make it easier for small businesses to access loans. For two weeks beginning Feb. 24, the Small Business Administration will only accept PPP applications from businesses with fewer than 20 employees...
In January, Amazon quietly purchased Selz, a small Australian startup that, like Shopify, allows businesses to easily set up online stores. What exactly the company plans to do with Selz is still unclear, but we have some guesses—an obvious one, and a speculative one with branded merchandise implications...
The pandemic is wreaking havoc on the global supply chain, with real consequences for print and promo businesses. Shipping delays and price increases are happening now, but other impacts will take time to play out—and last long after the pandemic ends. Here's what distributors should know and what actions they can take...
Elon Musk's Boring Company flamethrowers, launched in 2018, were a masterwork of promotional marketing. And yet, to the surprise of absolutely no one, the flamethrowers have been a disaster for everyone but Musk. More than 1,000 people have had their flamethrowers confiscated, with many facing legal repercussions...
Looking to generate business in the absence of live events, Naomi Bodway and 10 other distributors put together a virtual event for customers. The group hoped to reach 150 attendees. Thanks to their creative approach and a killer swag box, they ended up with more than 200. The event directly resulted in multiple orders for each distributor...
Youssef Fadel, business development for NEPM-New England Promotional Marketing, Wilbraham, Mass., attended Promo Marketing's Back to Business Virtual Power Meeting - Fall Edition in November. He walked away with a $1,000 prize for being the most engaged at the event, but he also completed a few successful orders, adding an easy $2,000 to one...
Olivia Scott, MAS, is owner and president of Promotional Partners Inc. She came away from a 2018 Power Meeting with notes and contacts she still uses today. She came away from a recent Virtual Power Meeting with all that and something extra: an upgraded showroom. Here's how...
