Americans spent millions on sign-making materials in January

Here’s one gauge of the rekindled American enthusiasm for political statements: Sales of poster boards, markers and other sign-making supplies jumped more than 30 percent in the week before Donald Trump’s inauguration and the Jan. 21 Women’s March, according to data from the NPD Group, which tracks sales of consumer goods.

That week, Americans spent an estimated $6 million on supplies — not insignificant considering that many of the individual items cost $1 or less.

Sales of foam boards rose 42 percent. Poster board sales grew 33 percent, and in the week before the inauguration, stores sold roughly one-third of the 6.8 million poster boards sold in January.

Paint markers and fabric paint for T-shirts also sold more briskly than normal, said Leen Nsouli, director of industry analysis for office suppliers at NPD.

The sale jump was an unexpected boon to office supply retailers, which had seen sales drop for 22 weeks with the exception of the week before Christmas, and the two weeks before the march.

The Women’s March drew record crowds to Washington D.C., and hundreds of thousands of people attended marches in other cities around the U.S. to protest President Donald Trump’s presidency and to advocate for women’s rights.

Organizers estimated that 5 million people participated globally.