Since the UK had its long awaited ‘Freedom Day’, weddings are back on and stag parties are being planned up and down the country. The ‘stag do’ market has endured its second year of drought since the pandemic started. But, since the UK came out of lockdown on the 19th July, things have picked up dramatically! Orders for personalised ‘stag t-shirts‘ are up over 500% according to David Cavill, founder of tshirtexpert.co.uk.

We’ve seen an instant response to the re-opening. It has finally given grooms and their best men the confidence to make plans and provisions for their stag parties. We’ve been seeing big group sizes too. It’s worth keeping an eye out for a gang of twenty or so lads in bright red ‘Game Over’ t-shirts if you’re in the city this weekend.

David goes on to talk about a notable shift in where the stag dos are happening.

The vast majority of stags have opted to have their event in the UK this year. Before the pandemic, most destinations that we printed [on t-shirts] were major European cities. We heard from a customer who had been planning for 15 lads to go to Las Vegas but now they’re going to be racing go-karts in Rotherham. That’s some compromise!

TShirtExpert have also reported an increase in the use of their ‘express turnaround’ option, which ensures that customers receive their custom t-shirt order within 3 working days. This would suggest that stag t-shirts (at least) are being left to the last minute before ordering. Perhaps this is to be expected after months of uncertainty about whether stag nights would even go ahead or not.

Looking to the future, David is hopeful for a return to normality.

We’re feeling more optimistic for an upturn in sales for 2022. As travel restrictions ease further, the vaccines continue to be effective, and larger weddings get booked in; things will hopefully start to feel normal again.

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