The promotional products industry’s pivot to selling personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic continued in August, according to new exclusive data from ASI.

Four of the top 10 search terms in ESP, ASI’s database of products from around the promo industry, were tied to PPE or related health-protecting items. Various terms for face coverings and hand sanitizer appeared in the top 10. However, for the first time since the pandemic began, there were more traditional industry items like pens, mugs and tote bags than PPE items in the top 10.

“It’s not quite a return to normal yet, but the traditional promo products powerhouses are taking a run at the PPE-dominated top four,” said Nathaniel Kucsma, ASI’s executive director of research and corporate marketing. “At this time next month, I’d expect to see one or two of the top four ESP searches to not be PPE.”

The data indicated a return to normalization in promo products demand last month. Searches for Halloween and awards were up 490% and 99%, respectively. Meanwhile, searches for PPE dropped 48% and searches for hand sanitizer was down 35%. However, searches for dye sublimated face masks jumped 163%. A new item has also emerged in popularity: Mask lanyard was searched over 1,200 times in August after receiving zero searches in July.

For the first eight months of 2020, hand sanitizer, face masks and pens were the most-searched terms in ESP. In fact, four of the year’s top 10 search terms relate to face coverings – face mask, mask, neck gaiter and bandana.