“PPE” has been knocked out of the Top 10 ESP search terms for February, as COVID restrictions lift across North America.

Traditional promo owned the top spots; the number-one searched for term for the 15th consecutive month was “pens,” while “water bottles,” “mugs” “tote bags” and “lanyards” occupied the same places as the previous month. Conspicuously absent was any PPE, including “KN95,” which rose to number seven in January as the CDC recommended N95 and KN95 masks for the best protection against the omicron variant of the virus.

With mandates being eased or lifted (the CDC announced last week that more than 90% of the U.S. population don’t need to wear masks), distributors are looking for traditional promo again. Consider that in February 2021, “face masks” still ranked number two and “hand sanitizer” ranked number 10 (the latter now stands at 19th).

Relatedly, the terms that saw the largest declines in demand between January and February include “N95 mask” (a decrease of 83%), “KN95” (-79%), “face masks with logo” (-63%) and “face masks” (-54%); “face mask” searches are now ranked 52nd in search frequency.

As distributors look ahead to more in-person events and travel for the upcoming seasons, they’ve been searching for “phone wallets” (a 228% increase in demand), “table throws” (215%), “nonwoven grocery totes” (150%), “phone stands” (142%) and items in the “travel” category (102%).

“As we bid adieu to Standard Time and welcome back the glories of Daylight Savings Time, I think it’s safe to say we can also say goodbye to PPE being represented in the Top 10 search terms,” says Nate Kucsma, senior executive director of research and corporate marketing at ASI. “I don’t know about you, but I welcome both of these departures.”

It’s clear that events are in a far different place compared to this time a year ago. “Table throws” increased 1,088% last month compared to the same month in 2021. “Travel” (212%) and “retractable banner” (200%) also increased markedly.

The ESP findings come as economists report that hiring in the U.S. is increasing, noting that employment could reach pre-pandemic levels by early summer.