Golf Datatech (GDT) reported that golf apparel sales were down in on-and off-course specialty stores for the third consecutive month in September, falling 3.7 percent after declining 3.5 percent in August and a 3.6 percent decrease in July. Still, golf apparel sales still remain 4.1 percent ahead on a year-to-date basis (YTD) through September.
The July decline in golf apparel sales was the first decrease in 18 months (read SGB Media’s coverage here).
GDT said only two of eight categories were up for the month, led by men’s shirts (+2.7 percent) and outerwear (+3.2 percent). The largest declines for the month were reportedly in bottoms, with women’s off 16.9 percent and men’s down 14.2 percent for the month.
Apparel sales increased in 35 of the 36 months between July 2020 and June 2023 but appear to have peaked, according to GDT’s analysis of its monthly tracking of on-course and off-course specialty stores. Still, GDT noted that golf apparel year-to-date (YTD) sales remain 55.9 percent ahead of pre-pandemic levels.
“The pendulum has swung toward the negative on golf apparel during Q3 of ‘23, although none of the declines over the past 3 months have exceeded 4 percent, and YTD sales are still up 4.1 percent,” commented GDT Co-Founder John Krzynowek. “While sales in September of ’23 were lower than last September, it’s worth noting that this latest month is the second highest September ever recorded for golf apparel, and compared to pre-pandemic 2019 sales are still more than 50% higher.”
Photo courtesy TravisMathew, Data courtesy of Golf Datatech
