Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) released its 2025 Outdoor Retail Sales Trends report, noting a modest one percent rebound in outdoor retail sales (2024), totaling $28 billion. The report revealed that casual consumers – not core outdoorists – drove the majority of growth. This signals a continued shift in purchasing behavior and product demand.
While participation in outdoor activities continues to grow, the data indicated a market in transition, with apparel sales staying flat, equipment sales slightly dipping and the strongest gains witnessed in accessories and footwear, and in particular lifestyle-oriented products. Casual outdoor consumers tended to prioritize versatile gear, higher-value footwear and sustainable accessories such as tote bags, over technical equipment.
In 2024, large retailers in the athletic specialty and sporting goods (ASSG) channel maintained steady growth, independent specialty retailers saw slight declines but showed positive momentum late in the year and the retail e-commerce channel continued its multi-year decline.
“The center of gravity in the outdoor industry has shifted. Growth isn’t being driven by core users anymore. It’s the casual outdoorists: the weekend hikers, the car campers, the folks who wear trail runners to the office and a puffy to the coffee shop who are showing up in the numbers,” said OIA president, Kent Ebersole. “Casual consumers are driving growth in new ways, and that presents big opportunities. But we also need to keep investing in our core community. The long-term health of our industry depends on both. At OIA, we’re helping our members make sense of these shifts with data and intelligence, so they can navigate market trends, focus their strategy and stay ahead.”
OIA provides research and market intelligence – including consumer insight, participation trends, retail sales data and industry benchmarking – to help outdoor brands and retailers make data-driven decisions and stay ahead of change. This report features exclusive data from OIA’s partnership with Circana (formerly NPD), extending a detailed look at retail sales trends across chain, e-commerce and specialty channels in key outdoor categories such as apparel, footwear, equipment and accessories.
An executive summary of the Outdoor Retail Sales Trends Report is freely available, here. The full report – plus other benefits and resources – is available to OIA members.
