Despite an economic recession in 2020, the U.S. sports and fitness market, including footwear, apparel and equipment, grew by 0.6 percent in 2020, according to the SFIA 2021 Manufacturers Sales By Category Report.
The report shows a significant growth in consumer fitness and a strong sports equipment category.
Traditionally, sports and fitness sales patterns mimic GDP growth; however, as the national GDP decreased 2.3 percent in 2020 due to the pandemic, the sports and fitness industry was slightly up.
The recession’s impact was unique in sports and fitness, highlighting specific categories that gained popularity under nationwide restrictions.
Consumer fitness was booming in 2020, increasing 40.5 percent in one year. This surge was the contributing factor to overall industry growth in 2020. Free weights (104.2 percent), exercise benches (78.0 percent), home gyms (73.7 percent), and exercise cycles (67.1 percent) were the winners in the category.
While most traditional team sports equipment products were down, the basketball category held strong (11.6 percent), spearheaded by a 20.3 percent growth in basketball backboards. Camping (10.9 percent), fishing (14.9 percent) and golf (19.0 percent) also boasted significant increases in the equipment category.
Many sales categories reflected participation trends reported in its 2021 Topline Participation Report.
The athletic footwear category was down 4.0 percent, but the outdoor/adventure (15.1 percent), fitness/workout (14.8 percent) and golf (8.4 percent) footwear categories increased significantly. This increase also mimics participation trends of those specific activities in 2020.
The SFIA Manufacturers’ Sales by Category Report measures U.S. wholesale revenues across five major categories, 34 subcategories and nearly 150 various breakdowns. For more information, go here.
Photo courtesy Tonal
