According to the 2017 edition of the NSGA Sporting Goods Market report released today by the National Sporting Goods Association, consumer retail sales of sporting goods equipment, athletic footwear and athletic apparel increased 2 percent in 2016.
The new report indicates dollar sales increased by 3 percent for athletic footwear, while apparel and equipment both increased by 1 percent vs. 2015. The footwear category experienced largest dollar gains in the gym/fashion sneaker, cross-training/fitness shoe and running/jogging shoe segments. The equipment category benefitted from growth in the hunting and firearms, fitness and camping segments. Four of the top five largest dollar generators in the apparel category were related to the fitness segment, with clothing for working out at clubs/gyms/studios and for working out with equipment leading the way. Bicycle riding apparel was also within the top five.
From a channel of purchase perspective, full-line sporting goods stores were the leading channel of purchase for equipment and footwear. Within the equipment segment, specialty sport shops continued to be the second-largest outlet, but online sites are gaining share and closing the gap. Within the footwear segment, online sites ranked No. 2 and discount stores were No. 3.
In addition to reporting sales trends for more than 130 product categories, NSGA’s Sporting Goods Market report also includes insights into the channels of purchase and the demographics of the key users for a majority of these product categories. Combined with its recently released 2017 editions of Sports Participation offerings including participation trends, cross participation, and lifecycle demographics, as well as its popular NSGA Shopper Playbook: Insights into the Sporting Goods Shopper, NSGA’s portfolio of research provides a comprehensive view of the state of the sporting goods industry.
For more information on each report and to purchase your copies today, please visit nsga.org/researchofferings.
