Snow sports consumer sales and trends
Photo by @gladegoggles from Unsplash
Today I watched two insightful presentations on the business of snow sports and outdoor consumer trends. As a consumer, I’m used to buying the gear and hitting the slopes. But now with 52Winters, I’m thinking more deeply about how to be professionally involved in the outdoor industry, and attending the free Outdoor Retailer Winter Online Summit Days event is just the lift ticket I needed.
GET IT!? Did that pun work? Should I stick to my day job instead?
“Outside not Outdoors”
By far, my favorite message from both presentations was the emerging trend to welcome beginners to the outdoors. Pandemic travel restrictions forced beginners and experts alike to stay close to home, and limiting or closing indoor facilities prompted people to consider outdoor activities.
Matt Powell, NPD Group used the term “outside not outdoors” to describe consumers who want to be healthier but are new to outdoor activities. Research shows weekly exercise increased during the lockdown last year, and people are taking to activities that can be done locally like walking or biking. Joe McDonnell, WSGN describes the “frugal newbie” - consumers who want to try new activities but may prefer to rent gear, or repair/repurpose gear as a budget-friendly alternative.
My Take
I have great memories of playing outside in my neighborhood and in the forest nearby. Climbing trees, eating blackberries, sledding downhill and playing tag. And as a first-gen immigrant I went back to India each summer to visit family and tour local landmarks.
But my first trip in the “great outdoors” was not until I was an adult. My mom and I went to Australia and New Zealand during my last year of graduate school. We toured the jungle, beach, desert, glacier, fjords and mountains all in one month. My highlight was a day hike on the Franz Josef glacier in New Zealand, and taking my mom to the glacier’s base in the evening before dinner. Since that trip I’ve traveled internationally, taken up many outdoor activities and grew a passion for all things snow and ice.
Both presentations today got me excited about what’s to come for the outdoor industry. I’m a big fan of lowering the barrier to entry but also helping to build skills necessary for greater challenges in the outdoors. I hope that the seeds we plant today in beginners will take root and grow their desire for more fun and adventure!
Outdoor and Snow Sports Business Vocabulary
I picked up on important business vocabulary for outdoor and snow sports - hopefully I understood these definitions correctly as a consumer:
US Core Outdoor Industry = valued at $20.4 billion, this industry offers all the things we buy for all kinds of outdoor and sport activities. Includes all types of consumers, anyone running casually a couple of times a week to experts who buy gear for year-round activities. This industry broadly falls into three categories:
Outdoor specialty brick and mortar = this is like going to REI
Outdoor specialty e-commerce = this is like buying directly on Patagonia’s website
Athletic speciality/sporting goods = this is like going to Dick’s Sporting Goods
As of year end 2020, overall Core Outdoor was down 5%, and Snow Speciality and Snow Speciality E-commerce combined was down 7.5% compared to a year ago. In fact, 2020 sales for the jackets/coats/parkas sub-category, which of course is an essential item for being outside in the winter, fell more than any other item by $488 million.
Yet the silver lining for last year’s snow sports sales was dubbed “the year of equipment.” Outdoor equipment sales was the only growth category, representing $4.8 billion or 24% of sales volume.
If you had the money saved up last year, you probably bought equipment you’ve had your eye on for a while. Last year I myself bought a sub-zero sleeping bag for under $100 because:
I got an superb discount code in my email from the newsletter I subscribe to;
As I’m considering being an “outdoor professional” I’ll need to get the gear cheap while I can and finally;
who doesn’t love irrational pandemic buying! You should know I don’t live in a sub-zero climate so obviously I needed this sleeping bag right away.
Snow-related equipment like skis, boots, bindings and vehicle racks all had positive sales growth last year (see Notes). I was eyeing snowshoes but decided to wait. As for skis, I still need more practice on the slopes before I consider buying a pair. Needless to say even though I wasn’t ready, I’m still jealous of y’all who got your gear :)
U.S. Retail and Consumer Trend Presentation
Presenters: Matt Powell, NPD's U.S. Sports Industry Advisor and Julia Day, NPD's Executive Director, Business Development
Date: Thursday Jan 21, 11 am ET
Influencers, Adventure and The Outdoors: Top Trends for 2021 with WGSN
Presenters: Joe McDonnell, Head of Insight, WGSN
Date: Thursday Jan 21, 12 pm ET
Notes
Specific snow-related equipment products that had positive sales growth last year (FYI this equipment was officially referred to as “outdoor subclass segments”):
Snowshoes 38.6%
Skins 43.2%
Beacons 28.6%
Avalanche shovels 9.4%
Trunk mounts/strap racks: 27.7%
Cargo rack accessories 24.8 %
Other backcountry accessories 42.6 %
Alpine touring bindings 23.5%
Alpine touring boots 52.6%
Alpine touring skis: 5.6%
Nordic race boots 11.3
Nordic touring skis: 19.6%
Nordic touring boots 11.1
Nordic backcountry skis 13.9
Nordic backcountry boots 27.5
Nordic backcountry bindings 26.0%
There was meaningful sales growth for camping, tents, cooking and other mountain-based equipment; figures available in the full presentation linked above.