Merchandise is no longer a side hustle for the biggest creator businesses: commerce sales made up 68.7% of ANYCOLOR’s revenue in its May-July 2026 quarter, 11,413 million yen out of 16,620 million yen, for a company built on 181 NIJISANJI VTubers (ANYCOLOR, Financial Results for FY2027.4 Q1). The wider market is large and still growing: licensed merchandise and services generated 389.8 billion dollars in global retail sales in 2025 (Licensing International, Global Licensing Industry Study 2025), and US e-commerce reached 340.2 billion dollars in Q2 2026, 17.1% of all retail sales (US Census Bureau, Quarterly E-Commerce Report, August 2026). The infrastructure that turns a fan base into a T-shirt order keeps scaling, with Printify claiming 10M+ merchants and Printful 1M+ items fulfilled every month, while US Customs seized 78.4 million infringing items in FY2025. We aggregated data from SEC filings by Etsy, Shopify and Cimpress, Tokyo Stock Exchange disclosures by ANYCOLOR and COVER, US Customs and Border Protection, the US Census Bureau, Licensing International, Goldman Sachs Research, Linktree, Bandcamp and the published company figures of Printify, Printful and Fourthwall. For the streaming side of creator income, see our YouTube Shorts RPM statistics.
TL;DR
- Commerce was 68.7% of ANYCOLOR’s Q1 FY2027.4 revenue and 68.4% of its full-year FY2026.4 revenue (ANYCOLOR, Financial Results for FY2027.4 Q1).
- Merchandising was 4,546 million yen of COVER’s 8,825 million yen April-June 2026 revenue, down 22.1% year over year (COVER, Presentation Materials for FY2027.3 Q1).
- Global licensed merchandise retail sales reached 389.8 billion dollars in 2025, up 5.45% (Licensing International, Global Licensing Industry Study 2025).
- About 30% of Etsy’s GMS came from custom or made-to-order merchandise in 2025 (Etsy, Form 10-K 2025).
- Etsy marketplace GMS grew 7.5% to 2.6 billion dollars in Q2 2026, its third straight quarter of growth (Etsy, Q2 2026 Shareholder Letter).
- Shopify GMV rose 32% to 115.6 billion dollars in Q2 2026 (Shopify, Q2 2026 results, Form 8-K).
- Printify reports 10M+ merchants, 100+ printing locations and 60M+ products delivered (Printify, About page 2026).
- Printful reports 1M+ items fulfilled monthly and 146M items delivered (Printful, Newsroom 2026).
- US Customs seized 78.4 million infringing items worth 7.4 billion dollars at MSRP in FY2025 (CBP, FY2025 IPR Seizure Statistics).
- De minimis shipments into the US fell from 1.36 billion in FY2024 to 942.5 million in FY2025 (CBP, E-Commerce data 2026).
- Fans bought 50,000 T-shirts on Bandcamp in the past year, against 1.65 million vinyl records (Bandcamp, About page 2026).
1. The Market Backdrop: Licensed Merch and the Creator Economy
Creator merch sits inside two bigger markets: licensed consumer products and the creator economy. Global retail sales of licensed merchandise and services reached 389.8 billion dollars in 2025, a 5.45% increase over the 369.6 billion dollars generated in 2024 (Licensing International, Global Licensing Industry Study 2025). Entertainment and character properties, the bucket that VTubers, YouTube personalities and streaming franchises compete in, are the largest sector at 161.8 billion dollars, and character and entertainment licensing grew 8.0% in 2025, faster than the market as a whole.
The creator economy figures are softer and older. Goldman Sachs Research sized the creator economy at 250 billion dollars in 2023 and projected 480 billion dollars by 2027, from about 50 million global creators, of whom only about 4% earn more than 100,000 dollars a year (Goldman Sachs Research, The creator economy could approach half-a-trillion dollars by 2027). The same analysis attributes roughly 70% of creator income to brand deals, which means merch is still a minority revenue line for the typical creator even as it dominates for agencies with intensely loyal audiences (section 4).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global licensed merchandise and services retail sales, 2025 | 389.8 billion dollars (+5.45%) | Licensing International, Global Licensing Industry Study 2025 |
| Same measure, 2024 | 369.6 billion dollars | Licensing International, Global Licensing Industry Study 2025 |
| Entertainment and character sector, 2025 | 161.8 billion dollars (41.5% share) | Licensing International, Global Licensing Industry Study 2025 |
| Corporate brands / sports sectors, 2025 | 98.0 billion dollars (25.2%) / 44.4 billion dollars (11.4%) | Licensing International, Global Licensing Industry Study 2025 |
| Fastest-growing property types, 2025 | Sports +8.5%, character and entertainment +8.0% | Licensing International, Global Licensing Industry Study 2025 |
| Creator economy size, 2023 / projected 2027 | 250 billion dollars / 480 billion dollars | Goldman Sachs Research, April 2023 |
| Global creators / share earning over 100,000 dollars a year | About 50 million / about 4% | Goldman Sachs Research, April 2023 |
| Share of creator income from brand deals | About 70% | Goldman Sachs Research, April 2023 |
Context note: the Goldman Sachs estimate dates from April 2023 and is the most recent available public sizing from that source; treat the 2027 figure as a projection, not a measurement. Licensing International’s figures cover all licensed goods, from sports jerseys to cartoon characters, not creator merch alone.
2. Marketplaces: Where Custom and Creator Goods Actually Sell
The demand signal for personalized goods is visible in Etsy’s filings. Custom or made-to-order merchandise made up about 30% of Etsy’s total GMS in 2025, and apparel is one of the marketplace’s top six GMS categories (Etsy, Form 10-K for fiscal 2025). That is the addressable pool for print-on-demand sellers: buyers who want something made for them, not pulled off a shelf. The full-year picture was weak, with Etsy marketplace GMS declining 4% to 10.5 billion dollars in 2025, but the trend turned in 2026: marketplace GMS grew 7.5% year over year to 2.6 billion dollars in Q2 2026, the third consecutive quarter of growth (Etsy, Q2 2026 Shareholder Letter).
Etsy is also narrowing its focus. It completed the sale of Depop to eBay on July 30, 2026 and announced a reduction of roughly 220 employees, about 12% of its workforce. Meanwhile Shopify, the storefront layer behind many independent creator shops, grew GMV 32% to 115.567 billion dollars in Q2 2026 (Shopify, Q2 2026 press release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1), and the whole US e-commerce channel grew 12.2% year over year to 340.2 billion dollars in the same quarter (US Census Bureau, Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Custom or made-to-order share of Etsy GMS, 2025 | About 30% | Etsy, Form 10-K 2025 |
| Etsy marketplace active buyers / active sellers, December 31, 2025 | 86.5 million / 5.6 million | Etsy, Form 10-K 2025 |
| Etsy marketplace GMS, 2025 | 10.5 billion dollars (down 4%) | Etsy, Form 10-K 2025 |
| Etsy marketplace GMS, Q2 2026 | 2.6 billion dollars (+7.5%, third straight growth quarter) | Etsy, Q2 2026 Shareholder Letter |
| Etsy take rate, Q2 2026 | 25.9% (up 130 basis points) | Etsy, Q2 2026 Shareholder Letter |
| Share of Etsy GMS transacted in the app, 2025 | 45% (42% in 2024) | Etsy, Form 10-K 2025 |
| Shopify GMV, Q2 2026 | 115.567 billion dollars (+32%) | Shopify, Q2 2026 results |
| US retail e-commerce sales, Q2 2026 | 340.2 billion dollars, 17.1% of total retail (+12.2% year over year) | US Census Bureau, August 18, 2026 |
Context note: the 25.9% take rate is Etsy revenue as a share of GMS, which bundles transaction fees, payments, ads and shipping labels; it is not a fee schedule that every seller pays. Active buyers improved by about 350 thousand sequentially to about 87 million for the trailing 12 months to Q2 2026. More background on the production side is in our print-on-demand statistics.
3. Print-on-Demand Infrastructure: Scale, Catalogs and Consolidation
The fulfillment layer behind creator merch is concentrated in a handful of networks that publish their own scale figures. Printify says it serves 10M+ merchants through 100+ printing locations, offers 1,300+ products and has delivered 60M+ products since its founding in 2015 (Printify, About). Printful reports 1M+ items fulfilled monthly, 146M items delivered in total, 567 customizable products and 22 integration partners (Printful, Newsroom). On the creator-storefront side, Fourthwall says it is trusted by 500,000+ creators and companies and offers over 200 products (Fourthwall).
The market is also consolidating. Spring, the creator merch platform formerly known as Teespring, now tells visitors that “Spring is being retired” and points them to Amaze Commerce (Spring). Traditional print giants remain far larger than any creator-first platform: Cimpress, the parent of VistaPrint, reported 3.7 billion dollars of revenue in fiscal 2026 and says VistaPrint serves about 11 million small businesses a year, with decorated apparel, promotional products and gifts among its categories (Cimpress, Form 10-K for fiscal 2026).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Printify merchants / printing locations | 10M+ / 100+ | Printify, About page 2026 |
| Printify products delivered / catalog size | 60M+ / 1,300+ products | Printify, About page 2026 |
| Printful items fulfilled monthly / total delivered | 1M+ / 146M | Printful, Newsroom 2026 |
| Printful catalog / integration partners | 567 products / 22 partners | Printful, Newsroom 2026 |
| Fourthwall creators and companies / products | 500,000+ / 200+ | Fourthwall homepage 2026 |
| Cimpress revenue, fiscal 2026 | 3.7 billion dollars | Cimpress, Form 10-K fiscal 2026 |
| VistaPrint small-business customers per year / average order value | About 11 million / about 100 dollars | Cimpress, Form 10-K fiscal 2026 |
| National Pen average order value / annual spend per customer | About 380 dollars / about 470 dollars | Cimpress, Form 10-K fiscal 2026 |
Context note: the Printify, Printful and Fourthwall figures are self-reported marketing numbers on company websites, not audited disclosures, and “merchants” is not defined consistently (a registered account is not necessarily an active seller). Cimpress also employed approximately 16,000 full-time and 500 temporary staff as of June 30, 2026.
4. VTuber and Talent Agencies: Where Merch Is the Business
For agencies with highly engaged fan bases, merchandise is the core revenue line, not an add-on. ANYCOLOR booked 11,413 million yen of commerce revenue out of 16,620 million yen in May-July 2026, about 68.7% (11,413 / 16,620), and commerce was 38,092 million yen of its 55,682 million yen full-year revenue for the year ended April 2026, about 68.4% (ANYCOLOR, Financial Results for FY2027.4 Q1). Livestreaming itself, the activity fans watch, generated only 1,444 million yen in the quarter, about 13% of the commerce figure (1,444 / 11,413).
COVER, the operator of hololive, shows the same dependency and its risk. Merchandising was 4,546 million yen of 8,825 million yen of revenue in April-June 2026, about 51.5% (4,546 / 8,825), but it fell 22.1% year over year and pulled total revenue down 8.3%, while concerts and events more than doubled (+109.6%) (COVER, Presentation Materials for FY2027.3 Q1). Merch revenue at these companies moves with anniversary drops and seasonal campaigns, so quarterly swings are large. The live-revenue side of the same agencies is covered in our VTuber agency Super Chat statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ANYCOLOR revenue, May-July 2026 | 16,620 million yen (+5.4%) | ANYCOLOR, FY2027.4 Q1 results |
| ANYCOLOR commerce revenue, May-July 2026 | 11,413 million yen (about 68.7% of revenue) | ANYCOLOR, FY2027.4 Q1 results |
| ANYCOLOR commerce revenue, year ended April 2026 | 38,092 million yen of 55,682 million yen (68.4%) | ANYCOLOR, FY2027.4 Q1 results |
| ANYCOLOR VTubers / ANYCOLOR ID accounts | 181 (153 NIJISANJI, 28 NIJISANJI EN) / 2,106 thousand | ANYCOLOR, FY2027.4 Q1 results |
| COVER revenue, April-June 2026 | 8,825 million yen (-8.3%) | COVER, FY2027.3 Q1 presentation |
| COVER merchandising revenue, April-June 2026 | 4,546 million yen (-22.1%, about 51.5% of revenue) | COVER, FY2027.3 Q1 presentation |
| COVER licensing and collaborations / concerts and events | 1,279 million yen (+8.2%) / 908 million yen (+109.6%) | COVER, FY2027.3 Q1 presentation |
| hololive talents / talents with 1M+ subscribers / total subscriptions | 79 / 45 / 95.25 million | COVER, FY2027.3 Q1 presentation |
Context note: ANYCOLOR’s “commerce” segment includes music CDs as well as goods; the company notes that several CDs significantly exceeded forecasts in the quarter. Both companies report in Japanese yen under Japanese accounting standards and have different fiscal years (ANYCOLOR ends in April, COVER in March).
5. Direct-to-Fan Merch Beyond Agencies: Musicians and Independent Creators
Outside the agency model, physical merch is a smaller but steady slice of creator income. Fans spent 226 million dollars on Bandcamp in the past year, including 1.65 million vinyl records and 50,000 T-shirts, and an average of 82% of each purchase goes to the artist or label (Bandcamp, About). Apparel is a modest line on a music platform, but the 82% payout shows why artists push fans toward direct channels rather than general retail.
For independent creators across niches, survey data on merch are thin and dated. In Linktree’s 2022 Creator Report, 23% of niche creators earned revenue from their own physical products, against 18% of non-niche creators, and 66% of all respondents called themselves part-time creators (Linktree, 2022 Creator Report). Most recent available data: Linktree, survey fielded in 2021. The pattern holds with the agency data in section 4: merch pays when an audience identifies strongly with a creator, and stays marginal when it does not.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fan spending on Bandcamp, past year | 226 million dollars | Bandcamp, About page 2026 |
| Paid to artists and labels on Bandcamp, all time | 1.81 billion dollars | Bandcamp, About page 2026 |
| Average share of a Bandcamp purchase going to the artist or label | 82% | Bandcamp, About page 2026 |
| Physical units sold on Bandcamp, past year | 1.65 million vinyl, 850,000 CDs, 250,000 cassettes, 50,000 T-shirts | Bandcamp, About page 2026 |
| Niche / non-niche creators earning from own physical products | 23% / 18% | Linktree, 2022 Creator Report |
| Niche creators earning more than 100,000 dollars a year | 7% (5% non-niche) | Linktree, 2022 Creator Report |
| Creators who consider themselves part-time | 66% | Linktree, 2022 Creator Report |
| Linktree survey sample | 9,576 users (2021) | Linktree, 2022 Creator Report |
Context note: Bandcamp’s counter is updated continuously and the figures above are those displayed when we read the page in October 2026. Linktree surveyed its own users, so the sample over-represents creators who already sell through link-in-bio storefronts.
6. Counterfeits, Customs and the End of De Minimis
Fakes and trade rules shape the economics of cheap merch. US Customs and Border Protection seized 78.4 million infringing items with an MSRP of 7.4 billion dollars in FY2025, up from 50.6 million items worth 5.4 billion dollars in FY2024 (CBP, FY2025 IPR Seizure Statistics). Jewelry (3.23 billion dollars) and watches (1.45 billion dollars) dominate by value, while wearing apparel accounted for 1.41 million units and 157 million dollars, about 2% of seized MSRP (157 / 7,400). China (39.9 million items) and Hong Kong (12.2 million items) together supplied 52.1 million items, about 66% of the total.
The bigger structural change is the end of duty-free small parcels, which many cross-border print and dropship models depended on. CBP counted 1.36 billion de minimis shipments in FY2024 and 942.5 million in FY2025, a drop of about 30.7% ((1,360 - 942.5) / 1,360) (CBP, E-Commerce). Cimpress’s fiscal 2026 10-K states that duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value commercial shipments has been suspended and that the 800 dollar commercial exemption is scheduled to be eliminated by statute effective July 1, 2027. Domestic print-on-demand networks, which print close to the buyer, are the natural beneficiaries. For the luxury end of the counterfeit problem, see our luxury goods counterfeiting statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Infringing items seized, FY2025 / FY2024 | 78.4 million / 50.6 million | CBP, FY2025 IPR Seizure Statistics |
| MSRP of seized goods, FY2025 / FY2024 | 7.4 billion dollars / 5.4 billion dollars | CBP, FY2025 IPR Seizure Statistics |
| IPR seizure actions, FY2024 / FY2025 / FY2026 to date | 20,516 / 25,079 / 27,522 | CBP, Trade Statistics (updated July 27, 2026) |
| Wearing apparel seized, FY2025 | 1.41 million units, 157 million dollars MSRP | CBP, FY2025 IPR Seizure Statistics |
| Items from China / Hong Kong, FY2025 | 39.9 million / 12.2 million | CBP, FY2025 IPR Seizure Statistics |
| Items seized in express consignment, FY2025 | 17.4 million (3.7 billion dollars MSRP) | CBP, FY2025 IPR Seizure Statistics |
| De minimis shipments, FY2023 / FY2024 / FY2025 | 1 billion / 1.36 billion / 942.5 million | CBP, E-Commerce data |
| Statutory elimination of the 800 dollar commercial de minimis exemption | Effective July 1, 2027 | Cimpress, Form 10-K fiscal 2026 |
Context note: CBP’s FY2026 figure (27,522 seizure actions with an MSRP of about 10.57 billion dollars) is year to date as of July 27, 2026 on the CBP Trade Statistics page, so it already exceeds the full FY2025 total before the fiscal year closed. MSRP values reflect the price of the genuine item, not the counterfeit’s street value. We read the FY2025 PDF through a plain-text mirror because the PDF did not render directly.
Summary: Creator Merch and Print-on-Demand by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ANYCOLOR commerce share of revenue, May-July 2026 | About 68.7% | ANYCOLOR, FY2027.4 Q1 results |
| ANYCOLOR commerce share, year ended April 2026 | 68.4% (38,092 million yen) | ANYCOLOR, FY2027.4 Q1 results |
| COVER merchandising revenue, April-June 2026 | 4,546 million yen (-22.1%) | COVER, FY2027.3 Q1 presentation |
| Global licensed merchandise retail sales, 2025 | 389.8 billion dollars (+5.45%) | Licensing International 2025 |
| Entertainment and character licensing, 2025 | 161.8 billion dollars | Licensing International 2025 |
| Creator economy size, 2023 / 2027 projection | 250 / 480 billion dollars | Goldman Sachs Research 2023 |
| Custom or made-to-order share of Etsy GMS | About 30% (2025) | Etsy, Form 10-K 2025 |
| Etsy marketplace active sellers | 5.6 million | Etsy, Form 10-K 2025 |
| Etsy marketplace GMS growth, Q2 2026 | +7.5% (2.6 billion dollars) | Etsy, Q2 2026 Shareholder Letter |
| Shopify GMV, Q2 2026 | 115.567 billion dollars (+32%) | Shopify, Q2 2026 results |
| US e-commerce share of retail, Q2 2026 | 17.1% | US Census Bureau |
| Printify merchants | 10M+ | Printify, About page 2026 |
| Printful items fulfilled monthly | 1M+ | Printful, Newsroom 2026 |
| Fourthwall creators and companies | 500,000+ | Fourthwall 2026 |
| Cimpress revenue, fiscal 2026 | 3.7 billion dollars | Cimpress, Form 10-K fiscal 2026 |
| Average Bandcamp payout to artist or label | 82% | Bandcamp 2026 |
| Infringing items seized by CBP, FY2025 | 78.4 million (7.4 billion dollars MSRP) | CBP, FY2025 IPR Seizure Statistics |
| De minimis shipments, FY2025 | 942.5 million (1.36 billion in FY2024) | CBP, E-Commerce data |
| Niche creators earning from own physical products | 23% | Linktree, 2022 Creator Report |
Methodology and Sources
Every figure in this roundup was read during research in an SEC filing, a stock-exchange disclosure, a government dataset, an industry association study or a company’s own published page. We calculated shares only where both parts were published, and the math is shown inline.
- Etsy: Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (filed February 19, 2026), Q2 2026 Shareholder Letter (Form 8-K, August 5, 2026)
- Shopify: Q2 2026 press release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 (August 5, 2026)
- Cimpress: Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (filed August 7, 2026)
- ANYCOLOR: Financial Results for FY2027.4 Q1 (September 9, 2026)
- COVER Corporation: Presentation Materials for FY2027.3 Q1 (August 12, 2026)
- US Customs and Border Protection: FY2025 IPR Seizure Statistics (May 4, 2026), Trade Statistics, E-Commerce and de minimis data
- US Census Bureau: Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, Q2 2026 (August 18, 2026)
- Licensing International: Global Licensing Industry Study 2025
- Goldman Sachs Research: The creator economy could approach half-a-trillion dollars by 2027 (April 19, 2023)
- Linktree: 2022 Creator Report
- Bandcamp: About page
- Printify: About page; Printful: Newsroom; Fourthwall: homepage; Spring: retirement notice
- Data watch: Creator economy sizing is the weakest link in this topic. The only public estimate we could read is Goldman Sachs Research’s April 2023 figure (250 billion dollars, 480 billion dollars by 2027); we found no second firm’s estimate with a disclosed methodology to cross-check it, so it should be read as a single projection. Licensing International measures licensed goods broadly, which is a different (and much larger) universe than creator merch, so the two numbers should not be added or compared directly. Printify, Printful and Fourthwall figures are self-reported website claims, not audited; none of these companies files public financial statements. COVER’s full-year FY2026/3 revenue mix could not be extracted reliably from the presentation text, so only the quarterly figures (which sum to the reported total) are used. Articore Group (Redbubble and TeePublic) published FY2026 results on the ASX on August 28, 2026, but the documents sat behind an access gate we could not pass, so they were excluded; Amazon Merch on Demand terms, Gelato and the Amazon brand protection report were likewise unreachable (403 or empty pages). The OECD-EUIPO 2025 report on global trade in fakes was blocked by a security check and was not used. Linktree’s creator survey dates from 2021 and is the most recent available data of its kind. The CBP FY2026 seizure count is year to date and will rise. Etsy’s GMS changed basis after the Depop sale (July 30, 2026), so 2026 consolidated figures are not comparable to 2025 totals.
Last updated: October 3, 2026. We update this roundup quarterly, and the next refresh is expected when Etsy and Shopify report Q3 2026 results in late October and early November 2026, and ANYCOLOR and COVER publish their next quarterly results.