Merch is fun!

It creates a sense of unity and community across your organization, even amongst the most dispersed and remote teams.

The way we do business is changed for the long-haul. The work-from-home culture has replaced the office, video is the new conference room, and corporate casual has transformed into corporate comfortable.

Slippers Optional

The expectation of corporate casual attire still remains when it comes to working from home. Zoom calls, video meetings, and chat sessions only require a professional appearance from the waist up, since everyone is sitting in front of a screen.

With remote and dispersed teams only connecting through video, companies are implementing creative ways to increase employee engagement and cultivate team connection through the use of an online company merch store.

Offering company-branded apparel and promotional products, such as mugs or tumblers, team members can still look and feel like a part of the team, even when they are working is separate locations and connecting primarily over video chat.

Comfy, company-logoed t-shirts, cozy, hooded sweatshirts, or a cool, printed trucker hat can proudly be worn during video calls to show the employee’s sense of style.

Company merch is an important component of workplace culture, as it conveys an image of professionalism while showing a commitment to, and investment in, the employees, especially when high-quality apparel items are included in your store.

And, while it might sound silly, the right branded merch can have a big impact on your employee engagement and in building a positive remote culture.

Your Employees Deserve Your Merch

Company merch is otherwise known as corporate branded apparel that is generally handed out to new employees during onboarding.

Employees might receive a backpack embroidered with the company logo, or a zip-up sweatshirt with the company motto, or a custom logoed t-shirt.

In the past, company merch was freely given out in the office to encourage a sense of community and belonging.

With COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders, a new approach to distributing company merch means moving all of the items to an online company store.

This new approach ensures consistency in terms of approved, custom branded apparel with the official company logo across departments, while also allowing employees to purchase individual pieces of company apparel online and having it shipped directly to them.

Creative uses for the online merch store include providing giveaways for employee work anniversaries or employee birthdays, or as a portal for employees to order company uniforms.

Employees get to choose the branded apparel they want to wear from the comfort of their own home.

The Company Store: The Basics

You may be wondering what exactly a company apparel store might look like, how it operates, and how your employees or others might use it.

Let’s discuss more.

An online company store is essentially a marketplace of apparel and promotional products with your company’s logo on them that employees can purchase.

A company store functions much like a standard online store, like Nordstrom. It eliminates confusion by providing a single site with pre-approved apparel and promotional products, and branding.

Employees are provided a link to the company store so they can shop. They can select and purchase items based on the company’s parameters, such as with a company gift certificate or a company credit card.

Ordered items are then shipped to the employee’s address, much like if they ordered from a standard store online, making the transaction easy.

Anytime an employee needs apparel or wants a new coffee mug, for example, they simply log into the company merch store and order.

How Do I Set Up My Store?

When it comes to the setup and management of your online company merch store, you don’t have to worry about a thing.

At Logo Wear Company, we take care of the setup and logistics.

All you have to do is select the apparel items and promotional products that resonate with your brand and those you’d like to have on your store.

We have thousands of apparel products available for both men and women, as well as bags, jackets, and hats, in name brands, such as Ogio, Nike, and Calvin Klein.

When choosing the best employee merch, it’s a good practice to consider two elements: first, what items will your employees actually like and wear, which apparel items best capture your overall corporate brand; the image you’d like to portray.

Generally, company merch stores consist of 10 to 100 items.

You’ll never worry about incorrect branding since you’ll select and approve every item on the store and provide the graphics to us.

Each item you select for your store will be branded with your approved logo.

What About Sizing?

Arguably the most headache-inducing aspect of apparel, particularly when sold online, is sizing.

In reality, sizes differ from vendor to vendor making it difficult sometimes to know whether you’re ordering the correct size.

To mitigate the chance of ordering the incorrect size, we make sure to include size charts from the manufacturer with each product.

The size chart includes the dimensions of each style of garment and indicates whether a piece of apparel has a retail fit or whether it runs large.

We like to include as much detail as possible to ensure you receive the correct fit of your garment.

Benefits of An Online Company Merch Store

Brand recognition, brand awareness, and employee recognition are some of the top 10 benefits of an online store.

Company merch can promote feelings of appreciation and happiness among your employees, especially with items they actually like, such as an Adidas golf shirt.

The Advertising Specialty Institute states that 76% of women keep their company-branded polo shirts because they actually like them, and one-third of men wear their company-branded hat on a weekly basis.

Encouraging your teams to wear their branded gear lifts their spirits and provides them a platform to show off their new swag.

Regardless of where your employees are located, providing branded company merchandise creates a sense of camaraderie that would otherwise be lost with remote employees.

Corporate Apparel Embroidery 101

Offering company-branded apparel and promotional products, such as mugs or tumblers, team members can still look and feel like a part of the team, even when they are working is separate locations and connecting primarily over video chat.

The Company Store: The Basics

Encouraging your teams to wear their branded gear lifts their spirits and provides them a platform to show off their new swag.

CHECK OUT OUR COMPANY MERCH SITES