Readied with insightful data from the “2013 American Camper Report” produced by the Outdoor Foundation and The Coleman Company, Inc., along with information from the Pulse of the Outdoor Consumer study from SOS, Chris Fanning, Outdoor Foundation, Francis Abeywardane, The Coleman Company, Inc and Neil Schwartz, SportsOneSource, will explore trends and behaviors of camping participants at the upcoming Outdoor Retailer show.

The findings include information about the specific habits and preferences in campers’ behavior – helpful for any brand or retailer since camping touches almost every outdoor product and activity category.

The American Camper Report showed us that camping lost 4.5 million participants in 2012, but those that still camp are an avid bunch – camping more frequently and travelling farther to their destinations,” said Chris Fanning, executive director of the Outdoor Foundation. “We believe these and other insights will better equip the outdoor industry to engage both campers and non-campers, initiating a healthy increase in camping participation and related activities.”

“Camping is one of those activities that cuts across almost every outdoor product category,” said Neil Schwartz, V.P Marketing & Consumer Insights, SportsOneSource. “As camping grows so will many of the activities that are done while people are on camping trips and camping vacations.”  

Thirty-eight million Americans participated in camping in 2012, according to the Camper Report released late last year. This equates to 13 percent of Americans over age six. Participation declined from 2011 when 42.5 million Americans, or 15 percent of the US population, participated in camping.  For the first time, the report took an in-depth look at the buying behaviors of camping participants to provide insights about practices and preferences. In addition, the panel will explore the consumer habits of campers using data from the recently released Pulse of the Outdoor Consumer study from SOS.   The participation based data is derived from an online survey of more than 42,000 Americans ages six and older together with a supplementary survey of camping participants ages 18 and older. The panel will discuss these finding and others.