Hey friends, Dave here with transfer express and today, we're going to be diving in
to an apparel industry forecast for 2022. Now,
while looking forward we're gonna have to take a moment and look back on the trends
that we saw emerge this year that are setting that stage for what comes next in 2022. Sure,
navigating the post-pandemic landscape was and still is challenging it's safe to say that we're
all fatigued but let's celebrate the successes of 2021 and dive into what we see coming next!
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every single week let's reflect on what 2021 meant for so many of us here in the apparel
printing industry now the first thing that comes to mind for people that i've talked to this year
is thriving not just surviving the businesses that weather the uncertainty of 2020 are doing better
than they ever have and even those new t-shirt businesses that cropped up are sharing a lot
of the growth of the imperial industry as a whole and it's even changed the lives of so many people
i am constantly floored by the stories of those people who left long time careers sometimes not
by choice to follow their passion and start their own t-shirt businesses they get to spend
more time at home with their loved ones doing what they love and not even skipping a beat
on any income that's awesome next up is the return of some type of normalcy this year with
the arrival and return of the somewhat normal sports and event schedules a lot of that work
that was lost in 2020 has now returned bringing with it a good boost of old and new business to
the companies that made it through the thick of it but of course it brought with it some issues
namely the supply chain and logistical nightmares that impacted so many of us and still do
to this day from ink shortages to once reliable apparel styles completely out of stock to
vendors struggling to maintain inventory or even those long logistical transit delays we've seen
firsthand how the growth of the apparel printing industry has outpaced the limited manufacturing
and shipping capabilities coming out of this pandemic there was quite a bit of pricing changes
throughout the industry that rippled all the way down to the customer in 2020 from fluctuating
ink pricing to inflated shipping fees and increased pricing on just about everything
i feel like it all jumped in price even from a trip to the grocery store or just a cup of coffee
but being agile and adapting to those changes and costs helps you protect your profit margins
it also helps with strengthened communication with your customers being transparent builds
that sense of trust so your customers know you're not just trying to rip them off
and if they went to another supplier or printer they would see the similar pricing there too
which brings us back to our 2022 apparel industry forecast now while the supply and demand may start
to even out that increased pricing is most likely here to stay especially on raw materials and
transit fees if you haven't already it may be time to reassess your costs and pricing structures or
just look at how your process is laid out around your business or your shop you may be able to
shave some time and upfront costs off by upgrading to maybe a new shipping system or even new order
processing software or better bookkeeping all of which could still fit your business
and put it in the perfect pricing sweet spot to make a minimal impact on your customers and keep
all those orders flowing like we mentioned earlier those inventory issues and logistical delays
are probably going to continue at least into the first quarter here of 2022 while vendors may
start to catch up on the shipments of inventory from overseas the demand is still high keeping
that pressure on the entire chain that gets those blank garments and supplies from the manufacturers
to the wholesalers and then to you and your business the best practice will be to stock
up especially if you're doing on-demand printing with your online store like we've seen so many
people do buying extras and overs should always be in your mind when you're checking out if your
budget allows it now we've seen stock available one day and gone the next so you're going to want
to minimize any production delays and waiting on that back ordered stock is no fun trust me
speaking of on-demand printing though looking at the advancements in technology in the past
couple years the digital printing and heat applied graphics segments have just exploded this is made
on demand in low quantity orders more affordable for customers and more profitable for us and you
as decorators even as more advancements come out with the direct to film heat transfers
it's easier than ever to say yes to any job big or small loaded with colors single color gradients
or those details 2022 is going to be a big year here for us at transfer express as well in that
regard with the release of our own direct to film transfer ultra color max will offer no minimum
quantities and sheet sizes as large as 22 inches now these transfers have the same capabilities
as say like a direct to garment printer but don't require the investment or the constant maintenance
that direct-to-garment or dtg machines require you just get to use your heat press on-demand printing
is a great way to shift if you're running your own online store or etsy shop you'll be limiting
the liability that you get when printing those big bulk orders if certain styles don't sell you could
just use the extra blank apparel for the next drop and print those designs when the orders come in in
addition to those new businesses that jumped in to the heat printing industry printing those t-shirts
we've seen a lot of larger traditional ink and squeegee screen printing shops
using screen printed transfers too these shops are leveraging transfers for jobs that don't meet the
quantity minimums for their profitable automatic press operation or using them in place of skilled
screen printers that have become incredibly hard to find these days yeah in terms of shortages it's
not just limited to inks and apparel labor is in high demand too another trend continuing into 2022
digital marketing it's easier than ever for small businesses and creators to dip their toes
into online advertising and social media marketing sharing noteworthy projects your capabilities
or any behind the scenes content to get your company and name out there with just a few hours
of research you could stand up low-cost profitable campaigns to expand your reach and your audience
even in your local area one of the things that the pandemic spotlighted was how to make your business
known online without in-person events or even advertising on the commute i'm talking ads on
the radio billboards or ads that you put on the back of your own car with vinyl bolstering your
online presence and optimizing your website or your online stores for maximum search ability is
always smart but it will be more important than ever here in 2022 now in terms of social media
you might think like that it's just a bunch of junk and tick tock is just a bunch of silly dances
but you'll be wrong we've seen and heard from so many t-shirt decorators with online stores that
just blew up in a single viral post even those doing custom apparel too they went from two orders
a week to a steady 200 or more they quit their full-time jobs and now they're doing what they
love off one post that just went viral so i urge you to at least try it out if you're not already
follow some apparel brands etsy stores and those print shops by just searching hashtags makes it
super easy to see the content that you want and that's the stuff that you're going to leverage too
worst case scenario you may still learn a few tips from others in the industry outside the business
side of things we're going to talk in terms of styles designs and fashion trends there's
a few that have really come up in popularity in 2021 with no signs of slowing down in 2022.
first and foremost inside tag printing and private re-labeling nothing kills the value of a printed
t-shirt more than your customers seeing a fruit of the loom tag while that specific blank may not
be the same style that comes in the 12-pack at target for 9.99 some apparel brands have built
a reputation on being very inexpensive and it's so hard to break those stereotypes when you're
printing for your own brand and with more and more apparel manufacturers creating styles with
the easy tear away tags it's never been easier to rebrand those tees using screen printed transfers
also completely reduces those misprints that could ruin garments when you're traditionally pulling
ink on a squeegee for those inside tag locations next trend up those tie dye and ice-dyed garments
a trend that started in those small etsy stores with hand-applied dye or bleach
now has been picked up by so many apparel manufacturers with brands like independent
trading port and company champion bella canvas and so many more offering brand new
dyed and bleached colorways here in late 2021 that eliminate the need to bleach or dye those garments
yourself the once highly niche market of bulk tie-dye garments is now mainstream and the trend
shows absolutely no sign of slowing down moving into 2022 here with more and more companies making
a return to the workplace branded local ware will absolutely be on the rise even with the teams
working remotely still company branded apparel is a great way for businesses to advertise in a much
more organic format and it helps those employees feel like a team again now if you think we missed
anything and i'm almost certain there's going to be something that we did let us know down in the
comment section below we love hearing your unique ideas and the trends that you see in your neck
of the woods of course this video wouldn't have been possible without the heat printing community
sharing experiences and ideas it's beautiful and it truly floors me the amount of help
there is out there for anyone looking to start their own t-shirt business of course with 2022
right on the horizon we've got a full year planned of more helpful videos along with free interactive
webinars and live streams built solely with the purpose to help you and your brand succeed
i hope that we could all close the book on 2021 in stride and absolutely crush it in 2022 be sure
you're subscribed here with the transfer express youtube to stay up to date on all the exciting
happenings here at stahls transfer express but until next time i'm dave happy pressing