Longer reads

The numbers behind the month.

A few pieces a month with the data behind a theme. Every figure links to where it came from.

Promo software in September. What commonsku, Syncore and ASI actually shipped, and what is still just a promise.

A plain reading of the month's platform news: which features you can use today, which are only announced, who is now making the decisions, and what the new decoration machines mean for small orders.

6 min · Sep 17

The September tariff changes, in plain English. What changed, what it costs, and what to re-quote.

New duties on goods from 60 countries. A 50% duty on Canadian goods that the USMCA trade deal does not cancel. Import bans from September 29. An interest-rate rise the same day. Each one explained, with a checklist.

4 min · Sep 17

Promo by the numbers. The figures you can safely quote to a client, and the ones that will get you caught.

$50 billion, not $472 billion. Calendars at 76%. Less than one cent per impression. What diesel, cotton and shipping containers cost right now. Every number explained, with its source.

5 min · Sep 17

Merch worth stealing. Twelve campaigns from this month and the simple trick behind each one.

A $40 cup that resells for $200. A capsule you could only buy with app streaks. A $3.99 handbag that made national news. 80,000 giveaways run on a booking system. What each brand did, and how a distributor can pitch the same idea.

5 min · Sep 17

Deals and money. Who bought whom this month, what the public companies reported, and what it means for your bids.

Two acquisitions, a software owner telling shareholders it is raising prices, the largest distributor shrinking, and a short seller versus Gildan. The money side of the month, explained simply, with sources.

3 min · Sep 17