The NextGen Study of Winter Participants, a report released by Snowsports Industries America (SIA), offers a detailed look at the perceptions of young and diverse non-participants in winter outdoor sports — people who represent an untapped potential to grow participation.
The report is part of an ongoing effort by SIA to help its members understand how to grow participation, diversity and inclusion in their business and the greater winter outdoor community.
The NextGen Study provides important and actionable insights into growing participation within audiences traditionally underrepresented in winter outdoor sports. Some of the key takeaways from the study include:
- The most common barriers to entry were cost, injury concerns and a lack of skills or knowledge.
- Nearly one out of five non-participants said they simply had never thought about snow sports, indicating overall awareness might be an initial barrier to converting non-participants into participants.
- Non-participants revealed the more inclusive snow sports are to them, the more interested they would be in trying or participating in snow sports, because they feel it’s within their capabilities.
The NextGen study follows the first of SIA’s 2021-2022 Monthly Consumer Insights Reports with “Anticipation and Holiday Spending.” This series of member-only reports from November to March offers detailed insights into the consumer trends and habits of active snow sports enthusiasts across a range of touchpoints in the industry. It is the first of six Consumer Insights Reports that SIA will release this winter, each informed from its database of more than 100,000 active winter consumers.
In addition to this robust market data, SIA is forging new and unexpected connections with consumers on behalf of its members under the banner of Snowbound.
Snowbound Festivals, SIA’s consumer shows, will take place in person starting in Fall 2022, but this winter Snowbound is launching a partnership with Fuel TV to create the “Snowbound” series virtually. Premiering on Jan. 14, “Snowbound” is an 11-episode series running from January through March, featuring 22 minutes of winter outdoor content airing every Friday with multiple re-airs during the week. Content is exclusively provided by SIA members and episodes are available on-demand and on several platforms, including Samsung TV Plus, Plex and One Hub TV. FUEL TV is the global home of action-sports television and reaches a broad audience of outdoor enthusiasts.
In another effort to reach new audiences, this week Snowbound launched its first collaboration with THE NTWRK, featuring 686 in a half-hour live show providing exclusive early access to its new Grateful Dead collection. THE NTWRK is a live, online e-commerce platform that features exclusive product drops and allows viewers to watch shoppable content from world-class creators, broadcast directly to a smartphone. Snowbound looks forward to more sales events with THE NTWRK as it provides the opportunity for SIA members to get winter products in front of new and influential consumers.
The winter outdoor industry demands new and greater access to the enthusiasts. Consumers are the future of the winter outdoor industry and SIA’s unique ability to offer access to the consumer via its reporting and its omnichannel, consumer-facing platform, Snowbound, allows it to provide unparalleled value to its members and sets it apart from a typical trade association.
For information on SIA and Snowbound, visit snowsports.org.
