November snow sports retail sales increased 13 percent in units sold and 14 percent in dollars compared to November 2012, reaching $1.2 billion season to date (August to November), according to the latest figures from SIA and Leisure Trends. That equates to $83 million more than was spent the same time last season – a welcome turn-around after two seasons of sparse snow and warmer than average temperatures in November.
In fact, the National Climate Data Center reported that average temperatures in the contiguous United States were below the 30-year average and there were nearly three times as many record cold daily highs and lows in November. In late November (measured on November 27), 36 percent of the contiguous United States had snow cover compared to 20 percent in November 2012. This led to early resort openings. In fact, many had the earliest opening dates in more than a decade, said SIA.
Overall Snow Sports Market Sales through All Channels August through November 30, 2013:
Equipment Sales: $304M, up 6 percent in dollars sold and up 4 percent in units sold
Apparel Sales: $530M, up 6 percent in dollars sold and flat in units sold
Accessories Sales: $328M, up 13 percent in dollars sold up 7 percent in units sold
Notable Trends
Alpine Touring/Randonee equipment continues to enjoy significant increases in sales, through November AT equipment sales increased 34 percent in dollars sold and 34 percent in units sold.
Women are getting prepped to hit the trails. Sales of women’s-specific cross country equipment increased 29 percent in units sold and 17 percent in dollars sold to over $1M through November.
More kids are getting snowboard equipment this year. Junior snowboarding equipment grew 4 percent in units sold and 1 percent in dollars sold through November.
Backcountry accessories sales including beacons, probes and shovels increased 29 percent in dollars sold through November. Beacons led the way with a 36 percent increase in dollars sold on more than 8,000 units through November.
Sales of protective gear including pads, wrist guards and general impact gear increased 30 percent in units sold and 39 percent in dollars sold through November.
Action cameras may be the single most popular accessory in the snow sports market right now. Sales of action cameras were up 32 percent in units sold to 44,400 cameras and up 64 percent in dollars sold to $14M through November.
Going Forward in 2013/2014
Snow sports sales are off to a good start for the 2013/2014 season, and promising snow conditions in the critical weeks late of November and December bode well for the market. Snow explains about ¾ of the variance in snow sports sales season to season. The job market, gas prices and other variables do little to explain overall trends in the snow sports market. Overall, the snow sports market has more than 19M participants in skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, telemark and alpine touring. This season, we project that consumers will spend more than $3.5M this season on equipment, apparel and accessories in the snow sports market.
