The coronavirus pandemic has transformed the promotional products industry and birthed a single dominant product category, according to new data released by ASI.

Percentage increase in ESP searches - April '20 vs. April '19.

For the second straight month, personal protective equipment (PPE) is the industry’s most popular product, according to ESP search term data. Eight of the top 10 product terms searched on ESP for April are related to PPE, with year-over-year percentage increases for many products measured in the thousands and tens of thousands. “Face mask” was the top term searched this past month, with a jaw-dropping increase of 56,461% compared to April 2019. Hand sanitizer, bandanas, neck gaiters, thermometers and face shields were among the PPE items that ranked in the top 10 for the month.

Percentage growth in ESP searches - April '20 vs. March '20.

“We’re living through some unusual times in the promotional products industry,” said Nathaniel Kucsma, ASI’s executive director of research and corporate marketing. “The ability of this industry to pivot as quickly as it did to providing PPE products, and judging by the numbers, a lot of them, is unparalleled and should enable many companies to come out of this stronger than in other industries.”

Top 10 ESP search terms - April '20 vs. April '19.

ESP data also revealed a shift in the needs and buying habits for PPE items from March to April. Searches for various types of face coverings increased sharply month over month, including a 100% increase for cotton face masks and a 97% increase for neck gaiters. While hand sanitizer was the second-most-searched-for term in April, searches compared to March fell 60% – reflecting the prevalence of home quarantining and closure of public places that took place in April.