There's hype among the diehards - and some big publications like Spin even picked up on the song clip being played (Vesanic - I'm sure you noticed, but Spin and some other websites linked your video - congrats!). More casual fans aren't really going to care about a quick clip being played twenty minutes in on an IG Live video with shoddy audio. But when they officially announce a single, release date, album title, tracklisting, etc. - there will definitely be a splash made.
The Abe stream was fun. I mean, was it a mess? Sure, but it's an IG stream. It's not that serious. He was cool enough to play a clip and give us little updates on where they are in the process, which he really didn't have to do. Abe has a very jokey personality, for sure, and if you want more straightforward answers, Chino or Frank are probably better for that, but it was fun to watch them cut loose. It was especially a blast to watch Frank loosen up, who for years has always seemed like the most serious guy in the band. It was honestly kind of shocking to hear him cracking jokes and giving Abe some shit lol.
I agree on the merch, it took a big dive around the Gore era - they had some amazing shirts back in the 00's and even some okay ones during the DE/KNY era. Probably has to do with fashion trends changing and working with a new designer. But it's just clothing and not really the reason I'm a fan.