Dear skummunity,
At the start of 2023, our industry braced itself for a looming recession and we collectively held our breath.
Economic headwinds had presented themselves towards the end of 2022 with rising interest rates, the implosion of public tech company valuations (let alone the layoffs), rising inflation, the waning of Covid PPE demand and a general nervousness from end clients about the state of their budgets.
While the recession never officially came in 2023, our industry had to adapt to some concerns about the economy and how this influences end buyer decisions about promotional products. And we have seen the broader impact on the industry.
Despite some of the macroeconomic challenges, we saw a different picture in 2023 as our community and company grew at impressive rates.
Some exciting highlights include:
- Distributor Companies: 803 (up from 715 in 2022)
- Distributor Network Size: $1.8 Billion (up from $1.4 Billion in 2022)
- Shops Created: up 75% in 2023
- Projects Created: up 23% in 2023
- Company Size: 46 team members (up from 35 in 2022)
As we close out, 2023, I want to share an excerpt of an email we recently received from a distributor about their growth. We thought this enthusiasm captured the general outlook of the people we are lucky to work with day in and day out. And may this serve as a rallying cry as we turn the corner to 2024.
“Our company has had a very busy 2023 and currently has no signs of slowing down. We are actually nearing Job #10000 in commonsku and we are excited about this milestone”
We love hearing these success stories as it’s a reminder of why we started commonsku in the first place.
We couldn’t be more excited to take on 2024 with you!
Signing off with some holiday cheer that we captured at our year end commonsku team event (“HQ”) …
Catherine and Mark
Co-founders, commonsku
commonsku Milestones in 2023
803
DISTRIBUTOR COMPANIES
UP FROM 715 IN 2022
$1.8 Billion
DISTRIBUTOR NETWORK SIZE
UP FROM $1.4 BILLION IN 2022
+75%
SHOPS CREATED
7629 SHOPS CREATED YTD
+23%
PROJECTS CREATED
833,622 PROJECTS CREATED YTD
Features Released in 2023
Workflow Enhancements
This year we’ve been hard at work to ensure the skummunity’s workflow experience is delightful from start to finish. These workflow enhancements included the Product Mock-Up Tool, Multi-Size/Color Add option, Tag Management, Client Shipment Notifications, and the Supplier Spend Report. The launch of these features ensure our customers are operating as efficiently as possible, and putting their best foot forward in front of their clients.
Shops Design Upgrades
2023 was the year of beautiful commonsku Shops! In order to make our customers’ Shops design process as simple, yet impressive, as possible we launched a brand new Shops design studio, an integration with UnSplash photo, and the first of many new commonsku Shops Themes that will allow your to flex your creative muscles; the Poster Shop Theme.
New Partners
Building a better business means having access to experts of their craft to help you along the way. In 2023 we made it a priority to partner with exceptional companies’ equally as committed to helping our customers thrive. We welcomed virtual staffing via Delegate CX, curated marketing consulting services via Proven Marketing Strategists, and extended our PromoStandards partnership to include Gemline and Stormtech.
New Features Coming in 2024
New Presentations
As the first impression of our distributor customers when interacting with their clients, we know outstanding Smart Presentations are critical to securing new business. In 2024, enhancements to Presentations that allow for creative design, similar in format to some of your favorite Shops themes, are on deck.
New and Updated Reports
Better data, means better business decisions. On the horizon for commonsku are updates to our existing reports that you know and love, as well as the addition of highly requested reports to assess client performance, and report scheduling.
Enhanced Integrations
We’ve been hard at work implementing comprehensive integrations and partners library to serve your unique business needs, and we’re not done yet! In 2024 we’ll be hard at work at some of our most critical integration requests, such as Zapier, and update to the existing Quickbooks Online integration, as well as shipping integration options.
