4 Types of Company Swag that Employees Actually Want

by: Maria Alaez

It’s a hectic Tuesday morning and Matt is already overwhelmed when he gets an email from his boss about company merch. Matt’s company doesn’t have a good system for ordering merch, so Matt has to play a guessing game on what people like and then fill out 3 different contact forms for merch companies to see who has the best prices and products.


Matt’s already exhausted. 


After a couple of weeks of back and forth with Decent Basic Merch Co., he delivers 3 large boxes of swag to his boss. “Just put it in the merch closet for now,” he says. Matt lugs the boxes over to the closet and opens the door. As expected, the closet is still cramped with disorganized merch from last quarter’s big event.. and the quarter before that… and the quarter before that. 


Before he puts the boxes away, he decides to take a peek at the product of his labor and stress. He pulls a cheap t-shirt (that’ll probably shrink and fade after one wash) from the box, sighs, puts it back into the box, and shuts the door.


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You don’t want your employees to feel like Matt. No one wants limited options full of cheap promotional items. 

There have been many trends in the industry that have dictated the types of items that employees want but here are the most important points to keep in mind.

Employees Want to Choose.

We live in an age of personalization and choice! So why buy branded goods in bulk? 


With a company merch store, you can give employees gift cards that act as credit on the platform. Employees can choose from hundreds of products, all beautifully branded with your company’s logo. Employees are far more likely to keep the items they receive from their employers if it is something they actually want! 



Employees Want Eco-friendly.

With environmental issues rising to the mainstream, it’s important to offer eco-friendly options to your employees. Not only will this display consistency of your company’s values, but also keep younger and more environmentally conscious employees happy. 









Employees want high quality.

Employees want to feel appreciated. High quality products keep your team happy and encourage frequent use of the branded item, boosting impression rates and stretching your marketing dollars.


One great investment to make for your employees is PPE! High quality products that will keep them safe during the pandemic (and still promote your brand). 

Check out how to order our PPE here


Boxes of merch that sit in the merch closet are essentially boxes of wasted cash (and space).

Employees want ease.

Merch management should not be an interruption to your employees’ day, or to the day of the person who is ordering the swag. 



Using an Imprint Genius merch store is as easy for your employees as making an order on Amazon. Using the promo code you gave them, an employee can add whichever item they want to their cart and pick whichever color, style, and size works best for them. The items can even be shipped right to the employee’s home. Super simple.



How Imprint Genius can help


We create custom company merch stores with over 100,000 branded products. Our clients use the platform to set up employee rewards programs that keep employees engaged and motivated. Employees choose exactly which products they want from the company merch store, taking the guesswork out of it, and ensuring they’ll enjoy the products and represent the brand proudly.


Learn more about how our custom merch stores can boost company morale and keep employees engaged while working from home.


Promo done smarter, not harder.