As travel resumed in 2022 following the pandemic, the travel accessories market grew in the U.S. by 16 percent, year-over-year, generating $7.6 billion in sales, according to The NPD Group.
The travel accessories market, including luggage, backpacks, duffle bags, fanny and chest packs, garment bags, and toiletry cases, regained the lost revenue from 2020 and added more than $1 billion in sales for U.S. retailers.
“Economic uncertainties persist, but new travel behaviors are providing growth opportunities for the travel goods business,” said Beth Goldstein, footwear and accessories analyst at NPD. “Competition is heating up, and the travel goods industry looks very different than it did just a few years ago. Product innovation and experiential brand narratives that align with consumers’ new lifestyles, priorities and needs across product categories will create the demand that drives consumers to spend.”
Almost one-third of Americans have leisure travel planned for 2023 over last year, according to NPD’s Omnibus Survey results from December 2022. Rising travel demand is also indicated in sales trends of other general merchandise categories, including books and apparel. For example, sales of printed travel books reached 6.6 million in the U.S. in 2022, growing 6 percent year-over-year, according to NPD BookScan.
In apparel, U.S. consumers allocated some of their apparel spending toward travel. In the fourth quarter of 2022, 41 percent of consumers reported not making an apparel purchase in favor of travel, according to NPD’s Future of Apparel data.
