Trump merchandise sellers cut prices and close stores as demand weakens

Traders Union
All News
Business & Wealth
Billionaires
Trump merchandise sales decline

Highlights

Independent Trump merchandise sellers report sales drops of 20% to 39% from 2024 levels, forcing steep markdowns and multiple store closures in several states.
Manufacturer The Monterey Company reduced Trump product wholesalers from nine to three as 2024 MAGA merchandise revenue of $250,000 plummeted alongside demand declines.
Retailers like Sany Dash, who closed all three USA Trump Stores after selling $63 million in nine years, now pivot to broader patriotic merchandise with 40%-50% rally attendee conversion rates.

Sales slowdown reshapes Trump merch business

As first reported by Fortune, independent sellers of Trump and MAGA merchandise say demand has dropped markedly since the 2024 election cycle, prompting markdowns, store closures and a search for new product categories.

Richard Kligman, who opened a Trump Super Store next to his kite shop in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, says sales of Trump-branded merchandise have fallen 39% from 2024 levels. He says demand was especially strong between the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, but expects the business to keep weakening as 2027 approaches.

Other retailers describe a similar pattern. Steven Slaton, who runs the Trumped Store and Coffee Shop in Show Low, Arizona with his wife Karen, estimates September sales were down 20% to 25% from the same month in 2024. He has started discounting hats and shirts that once sold for $30 to $10 as customers pull back spending.

Fortune says at least three independent Trump merchandise stores have closed this year in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Manufacturer The Monterey Company is also seeing the impact, with sales director Eric Turney saying the firm earned about $250,000 in 2024 from MAGA hats, keychains and buttons for nine wholesalers, but now has only three regular wholesalers for those products.

Retailers pivot toward rallies and broader patriotic goods

Some sellers are trying to offset weaker store traffic by focusing on political rallies and broader conservative or patriotic merchandise. Ronald Solomon, president of The MAGA Mall, says Trump rallies for Republican midterm candidates are reviving interest in some items, including Trump 2028 hats, even though his MAGA product sales in recent months are still down 34% from 2024.

Others are making bigger changes to their business models. Sany Dash, who says she has sold $63 million in Trump merchandise over nine years, has closed all three of her USA Trump Stores in Texas and Colorado after revenue fell sharply. She is now concentrating on patriotic-themed jewelry and clothing at rallies and political events, where she estimates 40% to 50% of attendees buy merchandise.

The shift reflects a broader question over whether Trump-branded retail can outlast Trump's time in office. Some store owners say they may eventually rebrand around the next Republican standard-bearer, with Slaton saying his business could transition to merchandise tied to figures such as JD Vance or Marco Rubio.

Our earlier article on Republicans ramping up midterm advertising spending explained how the party poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Senate and House races as polling tightened, even in contests once viewed as safe. We also noted that high fuel costs and broader affordability pressures were shaping voter sentiment and forcing campaigns to reallocate resources toward more competitive battlegrounds.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.