Custom T-Shirt Business Market Growth & Potential

Is now the right time to expand into the custom t-shirt market?

29.3% of businesses surveyed had growth of at least 15% in their custom garment decorating businesses. That is a powerful number to consider.

Nearly 1/3 of all of the businesses had a 15% or more growth rate. But what about the other 70%? Well, 69% had at least a 5% growth rate. In other words, almost every custom apparel business had some sort of growth in their t-shirt business. They made more money in 2018 than they did in 2017.

Which means the answer to the above question is YES, this is a great time to start (or grow) your custom apparel t-shirt business. 

The information in the above slide deck presentation shows that the custom t-shirt business is thriving and consumers are looking for: 

  • More customized t-shirts than they have in the past.
  • Business owners are seeing growth in sales for custom apparel.
  • Local business is thriving.
  • Consumers have increased the demand for short-run orders.
  • These orders are both profitable and achievable with digital white toner transfers

Are consumers looking for custom t-shirts?

Google search trends show steady growth of terms like, “custom t shirt printing” over the past years. This means that every year more people are searching to get customized t-shirts.

Why is this the case? As technology like DigitalHeat FX white toner transfer printing becomes more available, consumers realize they can easily and affordably purchase these products.

Consider it like this, imagine you are in the year 1950. Would it be reasonable to call the telephone company and say, “I want to be able to call all of my family, all over the country, wherever I am?” This request would be laughable, it would be virtually impossible to make that happen. Even if you could do it, the cost would be astronomical. Fast forward the 2000s and the cell phone industry is booming. Consumers demand service everywhere, to everyone. Cell phone providers all start advertising how their networks are the best.

The t-shirt industry is experiencing a similar boom now. Consumers are just starting to understand they can leave their house with an idea (any idea) and get it printed on a shirt today.

Not only do they know it’s possible, they know its affordable. This is what creates a fast-growing market. Businesses can create something easily and profitably, while consumers can purchase it affordable.

Are custom t-shirt profitable?

The answer to this is simple, and the numbers can be crunched in many ways. Lets just look at a few examples.

Medium Black Cotton T-Shirt $2

8”x10” Transfer $2 (approx. cost of transfer, toner, etc)

Time to produce 5 minutes (at a $16/hr wage, that is about $1.50 in labor)

That totals about $5.50

Surveying 425+ business owners, a single custom t-shirt has an average price of $21.

$21 – $5.50 = $15.50 per shirt

Just this simple math shows the answer to the above question is: YES, custom t-shirts are an in-demand product that is profitable.

There is a lot more information in the above presentation. Ff you haven’t checked it out yet, scroll up to watch.