What Makes Australians Throw Away Promotional Products? Survey Reported
We conducted an email survey asking 72 Australian end users of promotional products about what make them throw away using product, and 32% of them agree poor quality was the most common reason and 28% of them will also reject if they don’t feel like the product has any using purpose.
Key Findings
- Poor quality was the most common reason people discarded promotional products.
- 28% threw products away because they had no practical use for them.
- 61% kept a useful promotional product for at least 6 months.
- Breaking or losing function was the product issue most likely to stop further use.
- Everyday usefulness and better materials where the strongest reasons people gave for keeping an item longer.
Why Do People Throw Away Promotional Products?
In the email questionnaire, we asked participants to think about the last promotional product they threw away and what the cause was.
Poor quality is the #1 reason why people reject a product if it felt cheap or poorly made. Another 20 participants wouldn’t use it if it had no practical purpose. With that being said, usefulness and product quality are top factors that make audiences keep a merch.
Therefore, to help clients avoid this type of issue, we require them to tell us how they plan to use the merchandise in our contact form. This gives our account managers like Mary Aguirre-Cruz a clearer starting point for the briefing, so she can ask the right follow-up questions and recommend products that fit the audience, budget and purpose of the order.
How Long Do Useful Products Stay Around?
For this question, we require participants to think about a branded product they still use and tell us roughly how long they have kept it.
44 of the 72 participants had kept a promotional product they regularly used for at least six months. Once an item becomes part of someone’s routine, it can stay in use long after the original event or campaign finishes.
Before choosing a product, buyers can look at the audience’s daily behaviour and where the merchandise will fit into it. For example, someone who plays sport every week will put a drink bottle or sports towel through regular use, while an office worker may use a mug, bag or notebook more often.
What Makes a Person to Stop Using Merch?
We also asked participants to choose the one quality issue that would make them stop using merchandise immediately, and the top reason is when a product breaks or loses its function.
However, people can stop using an item before it completely fails, particularly when the material wears quickly or the product becomes uncomfortable. For this reason, buyers need to check the parts that receive the most wear. With bags that have handles, seams, and zips. Or drinkware products wouldn’t function properly if lids and seals were broken.
Branding also needs to match the product’s expected use. Our co-founder, Charles Liu, specialises in branding methods and techniques. If a client orders apparel that will be washed every week or merchandise that will spend time outdoors, the decoration method needs to suit those conditions as well as the material.
What Would Make People Keep Merchandise Longer?
For the final question, we asked participants to choose one improvement that would make them more likely to keep a promotional product for longer.
Everyday usefulness came through as the top priority, and respondents have raised the same point across our other surveys. For brands, that leads to two practical questions before ordering merchandise: Will people use it, and how will they use it?
For example, if the audience travels regularly, a durable bag, charging accessory or reusable bottle fits naturally into that routine. If the merchandise is for staff working outdoors, sun protection, drinkware or practical apparel gives the product a clearer job.
What Merch Buyers Can Learn From These Findings
After this survey, marketing teams and merchandise buyers can take a few practical lessons into future orders to give promotional products a better chance of staying in use.
- Start with the audience’s routine: Look at where recipients work, travel, exercise or spend their time before selecting merchandise. Their normal behaviour gives the supplier a clearer starting point for recommendations.
- Tell the supplier how often the product will be used: Explain whether the merchandise is for everyday use, regular events or occasional use. This helps the account manager match the material and construction to the expected wear.
- Check the parts that receive the most wear: Review bag handles and seams, bottle lids and seals, apparel fabric and fit, or moving parts on accessories before approving the product.
- Match the branding method to normal use: Let the supplier know when products will be washed regularly, carried outdoors or handled every day. The account manager can then match the decoration method to those conditions.
- Choose quantities around the actual audience: Work from who will receive the merchandise and how it will be distributed. This keeps more products in the hands of people who have a genuine use for them.
