This summer, more and more niche outdoor sports such as rowing, paddle boarding, and paddling have attracted explosive attention and participation. Some people in the industry said that the outdoor craze has boosted the trend of sports life. Outdoor activities represented by Frisbee, camping, skateboarding and surfing have weakened the special attributes of sports equipment. Sports equipment has begun to become more daily, which has brought about the development of the industry. It will have a profound impact in the future and will also become a new opportunity for outdoor apparel merchants.
Niche movements, each breaking out
Recently, Taobao and Tmall Sports and Outdoor released the first “chasing new” list in the sports and outdoor industry, “TS100”. Data shows that camping will become a new 10 billion market segment on Taobao in 2022; entering 2023, this growth momentum will continue. In the first quarter of this year, camping, cycling and other market segments will continue to grow with higher market sizes. Achieving a growth of nearly 50%; emerging outdoor sports such as paddleboarding, surfing, and kayaking are popular among consumers.
About 30% of the new products in the “TS100” list are domestic new products, mainly concentrated in new sports fields such as skateboarding, camping, cycling, and fishing.
In the “Lightweight Outdoor Industry White Paper” released by Jiaoxia and iResearch this year, the lightweight outdoor industry was also proposed and defined for the first time.
The “lightness” of lightweight outdoor is reflected in multiple dimensions: the mentality of participants is lighter, and people’s pursuit of exercise is to relax and enjoy themselves, rather than challenge themselves; the way of exercise is lighter, and professionalism is greatly reduced ; The occupation of time has also become “light”. Playing Frisbee, tracing rivers, and camping in the park can all be done by taking part of your spare time; decision-making has become “light”, and there is no need for long-term preparations. You can just go and leave. These trends will eventually It also points to the consumer side, and outdoor equipment also needs to become “lighter”.
Huang Min, Vice President of Decathlon China, also said that niche sports have become a new lifestyle, and more and more sports brands are appearing in prime locations on the first floor of shopping malls. From an economic perspective, when per capita GDP reaches US$10,000, the consumer market begins to shift from material needs to spiritual needs. “The emergence of niche sports is an inevitable result of economic laws. Niche sports can meet everyone’s different spiritual needs.”
Circle culture, circle expansion and circle breaking
When talking about “From the perspective of transaction volume, what are the new trends in the sports and outdoor equipment industry?”, Mi Lan, general manager of Taobao and Tmall sports and outdoor industries, said: “We have found that the circle attributes of the entire sports and outdoor industry are becoming more and more obvious. , new trends and new sports are emerging every year, such as Frisbee and Lu Chong, which are popular on social media. In addition, traditional theme sports are also evolving into more niche methods, such as the sudden rise of cross-country running in the running circle. ; The fitness circle pays more attention to light fitness, family fitness, etc. Generally speaking, more professional niche sports attract a wide range of people to participate, with obvious stratification and socialization, fashion and professionalism closely match, and further professionalization and scene-based needs Upgrading and segmentation have become the distinctive features of this wave of sports consumption.”
“The outdoor craze is ‘expanding the circle’ again. We also encourage brand merchants to firmly grasp the current new trend and cooperate deeply with Taobao and Tmall platforms. We will help merchants continue to break out of the circle and expand the circle, and continue to accumulate brand assets and audiences. Assets.” Mi Lan said.
Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen
Since Frisbee, rowing and other sports require long-term exposure to the outdoors, the “White Paper” data shows that outdoor protection has become the primary consideration when people participate in outdoor sports. 65.3% of participants mentioned this, and the proportion exceeded Options like “close to nature” and “pleasure.”
Therefore, the overall penetration rate of sunscreen products in outdoor shopping is as high as 88.9%. Among consumers’ purchases of lightweight outdoor products, five of the top 10 products are related to sun protection, including sun protection hats, sun protection clothing, sun protection umbrellas, sun protection masks, etc.
The increasing requirements for sun protection and skin care have indirectly affected people’s preference for the intensity of outdoor sports. This trend is also shown in the “White Paper”, that is, lightweight outdoor sports are more in line with the public’s expectations for outdoor sports.
Don’t sell single items, sell scenes
Another clear marketing trend is that the outdoor category is currently more inclined to sell scenes rather than single products.
On the online page, compared to displaying single products, currently entering brands are more willing to present fixed combinations suitable for specific outdoor scenes. In its Tmall flagship store, Jiaoxia focuses on product combinations in scenarios such as “weekend outing”, “stream tracing in the mountains”, and “turf Frisbee”; Luotuo’s online product categories also have clear “hiking”, ” “River Tracing” scene is presented; when Xiaohongshu shares outdoor outfits, it takes the scene as the first choice for product selection.
The “White Paper” shows that, therefore, in lightweight outdoor products, people’s demand for products is diverse and complex. According to iResearch statistics, the top three expectations of consumers when buying lightweight outdoor products are multi-functional and easy-to-use products. Storage and everyday wear. Many brands have also noticed the new trend and tried to work on composite functionality. This poses certain challenges to traditional big brands. Its extreme professionalism and functionality are “excessive functions” for lightweight outdoor needs.
However, the marketing idea of focusing on scenes instead of focusing on single products also providesEnterprises have brought new problems. For example, people who were still playing Frisbee may turn out to fall in love with pickleball. Therefore, brands cannot create products specifically for a specific scene, but must refine the commonalities of the scene so that the product can adapt Changing outdoor needs.
Some new outdoor brands have gained insight into the delicate balance. Xiamen outdoor brand URBAN FORES, which was born in 2016, is based on a unique light outdoor style. Since its inception, technical fabrics commonly found in outdoor brands such as COOLMAX and GORE-TEX have been used on a variety of casual items. In addition, the brand also deliberately blurs the boundaries between men’s and women’s clothing designs to accommodate more Scenario needs, if you and your partner are both passionate about outdoor culture, then URBAN FOREST will definitely be a good choice.
Jiaoxia’s strategy is to thoroughly understand outdoor scenes, form a technological mix including fatigue protection, cold protection, and sweat protection, and reuse them in products to achieve multi-functional integration and cross-category expansion. Uniqlo emphasizes more on ultraviolet blocking rate, exclusive technical fabrics and public life scenes, emphasizing that products are not at the mercy of fashion trends and are connected with daily life. In short, although they are in the same category, each brand has chosen its own direction of development, trying to occupy “their own circle”, delineate “their own consumers”, and achieve recognition.
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