Key Takeaways
• Holiday gifting campaigns are most effective when they prioritize useful, high-quality products that recipients will incorporate into their everyday lives rather than novelty items.
• Growing consumer interest in wellness, pet ownership, golf and travel is creating new opportunities for distributors to build more personalized and lifestyle-focused holiday gift programs.
• Well-known retail brands and products with strong perceived value can increase the impact of promotional gifts, while budget-friendly options under $10 remain an important part of year-end campaigns.
Being a promotional products distributor is a little bit like being a personal shopper. You have to have an almost psychic ability to predict what sorts of products people will enjoy. The good news is that it only requires being “almost” psychic. The rest of it is backed up by research and data, leaving distributors with a clear road map for nailing their fourth quarter and holiday gifting campaigns across a variety of product categories and potential customer verticals.
In a presentation at ASI Show Chicago titled “Boost Q4 Sales With Holiday Gifting Trends,” Mary Furto, senior vice president of marketing, and Liz Haesler, chief merchandising officer for Counselor Top 40 supplier PCNA (asi/66887), discussed not only which product categories have been successful at PCNA heading into the holiday season, but also why these product categories resonate so strongly with end-users, and what this says about larger product trends within the promo gifting space.
Usefulness Is Key
Across product categories, the lesson that Furto and Haesler imparted was that a product needs to resonate by being something that the end-user wants to use and keep. This applies to health and wellness, electronics, apparel and golf. “Usefulness” in this context also means more than something that just accomplishes a task.
“This trend is all about being intentional,” Furto said. What she means by that is that a gift can become a staple in the end-user’s life through its perceived value, like a nice piece of drinkware from a recognizable brand like Stanley, or something that has a quality that gives off a luxury or high-end feel.
Furto cited a Deloitte holiday research survey that showed that 65% of consumers prioritize usefulness when they choose gifts, and 59% also want gifts that feel elevated in their design.
Creature Comforts
Having entered the golf market last year, PCNA is now incorporating pet products into its product collection.
“We are very excited to enter the pet category,” Furto said.
According to the American Pet Products Association’s State of the Industry Report for 2026, Americans spent more than $158 billion on their pets in 2025. That fact was part of what inspired PCNA to add pet products like accessories and supplies.
“Everyone loves a bandana to dress your pet up for the holidays,” Furto said. But, more than just fun items for dressing up your furry friends, PCNA is taking the idea of elevated products for humans, like a Stanley pet bowl.
Wellness Journeys
Furto explained that “wellness” as a catch-all term means much more than just physical fitness. It’s not simply gym equipment or athletic apparel – it’s products that help people live their best lives throughout their work, leisure and even their sleep.
As millennials and Gen Z make up a large chunk of adult end-users, there’s more demand than ever for wellness-driven products. Furto pointed to a McKinsey survey that found that more than 41% of all annual wellness spending was by millennials and Gen Z.
“Being able to have products with a promo, with a logo on it, that people are going to use every day as part of feeling good, is a great way to have a connection with a brand,” Furto said.
This can, of course, still include fitness and leisure products like the Wellable Cotton Robe (TM17800) or nutribullet Portable Blender (1032-53), but also items like the DayFlow Digital Smart Calendar (7143-93) to stay on top of family schedules and deadlines.
Getting Comfy
Furto pointed to hygge, the Danish concept of coziness and togetherness during the cold and dark winters, as something that’s caught on in America and influenced gift trends.
Add to that, she says, the continuing evolution of coffee shop culture in America, and you have an end-user base that appreciates products like blankets, comfortable sweatshirts, coffee mugs and coffee sets, tea and related products.
Golf Goes Beyond the Links
Haesler reflected on PCNA’s venture into the golf market now a year later, explaining that golf gifts are not only still popular, but maybe more popular than ever. Maybe it’s a result of COVID when people took to golf as a way of safely going outside and socializing, but she said that the National Golf Foundation found in its 2026 Golf Participation report that 48.1 million Americans engaged with golf in some capacity in 2025 – the highest participation level on record.
Golf, she says, is more than just the game itself. It’s a way for people to connect on a personal and professional level and experience nature in a unique way.
“It’s that opportunity to unplug, spend some time together, create lasting memories,” Haesler said. “Gifts that support these experiences feel more personal because they reflect what that recipient cares about.”
Items like golf bags and range finders can be mid- and higher price point gifts that golfers will use every time they’re out on the course and will see as a very thoughtful gift.
Brand Names Still Matter
Whether it’s for golf products, wellness products, pet products or any other category used for an end-of-year gift, Haesler says that incorporating well-known brands can elevate a gift to new heights and turn it from something that someone likes to something they love.
The Coresight Research Holiday Gifting report showed that 73% of gift recipients said they feel more appreciated when they receive something from a well-known brand.
Haesler pointed to specific products like headphones from Skullcandy, bags from Thule and more Stanley drinkware pieces.
Traveling Light
While appealing to younger generations, many of whom are traveling more than previous generations, PCNA is looking to capitalize on what it calls “Carry-on Culture.” It feeds into the idea of wellness products aiding in everyday life in areas like organization.
“Packing cubes, tech organizers, power banks, anything that helps people stay organized as they’re moving through their travel journey,” Haesler said. “Social media has played a huge part in this.”
As nearly one-third of Americans say they will travel this holiday season, they’ll be looking for items that make things as simple and organized as possible, regardless of how far they’re going.
Price Points
On the other end of the spectrum from the name-brand gifts and elevated gift experiences, Haesler said that there’s still a large market for more affordable products under $10.
“It’s been a big focus for us,” she said.
She named products like a simple 14-oz. tumbler, a small Bluetooth speaker or a miniature bucket for hardware, garden tools or candy.
No matter the product category, this holiday season distributors should focus on products that their end-users will incorporate into their daily lives. It should be things that they feel improve their lives immediately, and something they’d like to be seen using due to its quality or perceived value.
