The Backpack: Issue #63

Friday, June 20

• Trend Alert: The rise of old money merch
• Top commonsku News: How the shops pros do shops
• AI + Merch: How does Gen Alpha want its merch? Twinsies.
• Can’t Miss Content: Dunkin’ keeps droppin’ drippy merch

Old money merch is poppin’ off

The trend spotters here at The Backpack noticed something: Old Money merch is trending. First, check this incredible Taylor Swift summer lookbook. And this absolutely gorgeous open knit sweater. Or this “cowboy like me” merch. Sure, it’s Taylor Swift. But even Swift could have phoned it in and dropped just about anything with her name on it and made bank. Then there’s Frame, the denim brand, dropping a collab with Sotheby’s, the famous auction house, with this terry towel and this cropped sweatshirt, the whole campaign is luxe merch at its finest. And finally, Emma Chamberlain + Pinterest drop a sick merch capsule, love this maritime cup, pitcher, tote, and these luxe key chains. Now we kinda see why Lollapalooza dropped an ivy league theme for its merch this year. Go grab some inspo backpacker!

“Why does music merch look cooler than ever?”

French magazine L’Officiel asks why music merch looks cooler than ever. Answer? Design. Specifically, designers like Muntasir Mohamed, who does work for Drake and Blackpink. And here’s another music+merch story: AS Colour works with UK merch brand “terrible” (yes, that’s their name) to create a grant that allows musicians to access an award of “up to £10,000” to create their own merch line. And speaking of bands, retro bands are dropping some sick merch like The Cure (bucket hat, baby!) and one for the record books: Black Sabbath’s original lineup performs for the first time in 20 years, and they celebrate with merch. Why should this matter to you? Design inspo. Music merch is the tip of the spear when it comes to culture, but more than that, the L’Officiel article sums up the merch phenom well with this: “music-obsessed designers bring the precision and craft of the haute back to pieces that were once an afterthought.” > Pop that mic-drop in your next preso.

Whoa: This is a big deal, Apple does merch

Apple rarely —as in almost never— does merch (their visitor center finally has hoodies!) but for this year’s developer conference they made an exception and some say the merch (not the translucent bubble-thingies on the iphone) is the best “new product” Apple dropped. 😂 Kinda strange that they drop translucent icons at the same time they drop retro vibrant merch, no? Couldn’t they have done a little better connecting the new product launch with the merch experience? BTW: Here’s their 1986 catalog of merch, a rarity.

 

Exploring Asia with Dave and Mark

What does the promo industry look like from the inside out? This time we go to the source: Asia. In the latest episode of the skucast, we’re getting a peek behind the scenes as we take a promo tour through Asia with Dave Shultz, commonsku’s VP of Supplier Partnerships and and Mark Graham, commonsku’s President and Chief Brand officer! The two industry veterans partnered with PromoCares and Hit Promotional Products to journey to Asia which included a trip to the Hong Kong Gifts and Premium Fair, factory visits, and a PromoCares + Water for Good impact experience building a water tower for a factory outside Hanoi. Ever wonder what it’s like on the ground in Asia? Tune in to find out!

How 4 distributors use shops to drive sales

Did you know our shops are growing by triple digits every year? Dig what some of the best distributors are doing with shops, from Whitestone to Creative Boulevard to Showpony and Fairware. Some rad shop drops here!

Margins, reports, and a fresh shops gallery!

We've been glowing up over here! From easily adding credit card fees to invoices (keeping those margins healthy!) to scheduling automated reports delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, we've revamped our Gallery Layout with a sleek "All Products" default view and enhanced our Client Comparative Report with new date filters and margin toggles. Now —whether they're booked, billed, or total margins— you can track performance metrics like a boss!

The reset economy: tariffs, AI, and uncertainty

Join us for a timely discussion with Kyla Scanlon, skucamp speaker and author of the recent bestseller, In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work. Kyla has contributed to the New York Times, Financial Times, New York Magazine, Bloomberg, and has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, along with many other major publications. Her daily mission is to simplify the complex and reimagine economics as an accessible topic for the next generation. Register here!

Get Started, Explore The Collection Today

See more trending items by exploring the commonsku Collection packed with on-trend merch inspired by The Backpack's Issue #61 —featuring standout pieces from top partners like SanMar, Cosmo Promos, and more. New to commonsku? Let’s chat about how Collections (and tools like Shops, Presentations, and CRM) can help you win more business, faster.

Is this AI immersive shop the future of merch stores

Football club Sport Lisboa e Benfica (known as Benfica) drops an immersive online AI shopping experience complete with AI-generated customer service reps. The store was created by Infinite Reality, a next-gen agency that builds immersive web experiences. Check out the brief video here.

What does Gen Alpha want with merch? Twinsies.

“The Drop Is Everywhere, All at Once," is a game changer 😉 for merch + Gen Alpa. Not only are merch products now dropped digitally first but here’s the major news: Gen Alpha wants both merch for their avatar and the same merch IRL. From Dot Dot Dot: “According to Roblox’s 2023 Digital Expression Report, 43% of users want to buy 'twinning' items that they can wear on both their physical and avatar self. The avatar has become a prototype for selfhood, a low-stakes mirror that eventually leaks into real wardrobes.” If you think all this sounds familiarly like Web3, you’re right, except AI now gives creators a chance to leap over Web3 and match hyper-realism with real life!

AIO: The world’s first AI personal fashion designer

AIO’s platform is intended to make bespoke fashion a 1-to-1 reality, here's how it works: upload or describe your fashion idea, AIO creates design options, and then they connect to a network of ateliers to create your product. Think: Fashion-meets-consumer-meets-POD but totally bespoke. Now: Imagine this for merch. 🤯 

👶 Eminem becomes a grandpa and what does he do to celebrate? Drops a merch collection. It’s pretty dope.

🏎️ How much are you willing to spend on McLaren F1 merch?

🍞 Hot fellas heads-up: Maybe this is how you should have your next merch drop delivered to your customer?

😎 Skateboarder merch is a good spot for inspo too, especially this 90s throwback.

👀 Adrien Brody reppin’ his own movie with merch.

🎬 Did you know A24 has its own music line with merch to prove it? Diggin’ this hat.

⛳ The US Open’s merch tent is insane. But we gotta admit, we know it’s classic merch for a classic event but it could use a dose of inspo. I mean, it really does look like it’s celebrating a 125 years (squirrel merch). 🥱

🍩 This Dunkin’ + Stoney Clover Lane collab is 🔥. Check these patches. Or these Jelly crossbody bags.

🎭 New Hamilton merch. Hello? Hello? —-taps on mic—- Hello? This thing on?

🚀 How NASA merch survived budget cuts (basically: an end-around)

🏀 Indiana Pacers drop free merch downtown creating an hours-long traffic jam

💳 We love how Amex gets merch.

⚽ UPS drops a great story about moving fan merch.

👹 Labubu wears Carhartt. > Adorbs.

📈 Did you catch our upcoming webinar about the economy with Gen-Z advisor Kyla Scanlon? Register here!