How Rebuy scaled swag into a premium brand experience at Shoptalk

Rebuy is an eCommerce personalization platform that helps brands grow revenue through AI-powered shopping experiences and post-purchase optimization.

As the company expanded its presence at major industry events like Shoptalk, swag became a much bigger part of how Rebuy showed up as a brand.

What started with standard merch like t-shirts and hoodies quickly evolved into a broader question: how do you create swag that actually feels premium, memorable, and worth keeping?

For Sarah Hatter, Rebuy’s Director of Events & Community, the answer wasn’t about inventing entirely new products. It was about creating the best possible version of the things people already use every day.

The challenge: Basic swag wasn’t enough anymore

Before working with Wayo, Rebuy relied mostly on lower-cost vendors with limited catalogs and inconsistent quality. The products were often too basic, but experimenting with new ideas often required committing to large order quantities upfront.

At large trade shows like Shoptalk, where hundreds of brands compete for attention, Sarah knew the usual generic swag wouldn’t leave much of an impression.

Quality was also a major concern. Rebuy’s logo utilizes a bright multi-color gradient, and Sarah wanted to ensure their swag would actually hold up over time – not peel or crack after a few uses.

In preparation for Shoptalk, the Rebuy team started looking for a partner that could help them source better products, experiment more freely, and consistently deliver high-quality custom products that would reflect positively on the Rebuy brand.

That search ultimately led them to Wayo.

Why Rebuy chose Wayo for its swag partner

While Wayo’s diverse catalog was one factor, what really stood out was how working with Wayo empowered the Rebuy team to work more collaboratively and creatively without adding any operational complexity.

Sarah explains, “I can just take a picture or take a piece of swag that we got from someone else that we're seeing and say, ‘Can you do this?’ And allow the Wayo team to be the experts.”

That became one of the biggest differentiators of working with Wayo. Instead of spending hours researching products, comparing vendors, sourcing samples, and figuring out production details herself, she could bring ideas directly to Wayo and rely on them to handle the hard parts.

That support also gave Rebuy much more freedom to experiment. Moreover, because the team wasn’t locked into massive minimum order quantities, they could more freely test new products and ideas for events, ultimately enabling them to evolve their swag strategy without overcommitting on inventory upfront.

Just as importantly, the quality was something the team could trust. From laser-etched water bottles to durable tote bags with saturated prints and clean stitching, the products consistently met the standard Rebuy was looking for.

The results: Swag people actually wanted to keep

For Shoptalk, Rebuy worked with Wayo to produce:

• 12 oz. Midweight Cotton Blend Flat Tote Bag
• 17 oz. Stainless Steel Blair Water Bottle with laser etching

The difference was immediately noticeable. Rather than feeling generic or disposable, the products felt intentional, well-made, and aligned with the Rebuy brand.

The tote bags quickly became one of the most popular items at the booth, with nearly the entire inventory disappearing by the end of the event. Sarah jokes, “I wish that I had some of Wayo’s swag to show, but it’s all gone because we gave it all away.”

Importantly for Rebuy, the products felt like items people would actually continue using after the event – reinforcing the kind of premium, thoughtful brand association Rebuy wanted to create.

What’s next

As Rebuy continues expanding its events and community programs, the team plans to keep working with Wayo for new merch ideas and future event activations.

Upcoming projects include experimenting with additional products and eventually building out Rebuy’s online merch store experience.

With Wayo handling sourcing and execution behind the scenes, the team can stay focused on creating thoughtful brand experiences instead of managing the complexities of merch production.