Best is yet to come for booming outdoor industry
03/07/2009
The outdoor market is booming and its best days are probably yet to come. This is the headline finding of a new study carried out in the build-up to the European Outdoor event by German think-tank the Zukunftsinstitut.
The report said, however, that manufacturers and brands in the outdoor sector had to be especially open to product innovation if they are to reach their full potential.
The organisation said that one of the main factors in the outdoor industry's favour is that changes in social and cultural values mean people are beginning to value "immaterial experiences over the accumulation of material wealth". That means the uplifting experiences people can have by enjoying the outdoors, far away from mass consumerism, are an escape from the pressures of high-speed lifestyles, and provide us with "fresh input and new opportunities to redefine ourselves".
The study also pointed out that, whether it’s choosing a new breakfast cereal, taking up a new sport or buying a car, few consumer choices are made these days without considering their potential health effects. Nature and the outdoors have acquired strong connotations of health and well-being. Since the outdoor industry highlights the health benefits of exercise and sports in the outdoors, it can only profit from this development.
Even issues such as climate change can have a positive impact, according to the Zukunftsinstitut. The desire to experience nature close-up runs parallel to consumer demands for a more mindful approach to our natural environment. Outdoor advocates as well as manufacturers who have made sustainability the cornerstone of their corporate philosophies are in demand, it said.
According to the Zukunftsinstitut’s analysis of emerging market trends, five key trends will shape tomorrow’s outdoor industry.
The outdoor market will become integral to consumer lifestyles and will be seen as a source of pleasure. The industry will merge with other cross-over industries, including the personal health, food, tourism, services, fashion and, in particular, technology industries. Markets with flat hierarchies, such as the outdoor segment, must help form a new consumer market marked by ethical consumerism. Consumer demand for the outdoor lifestyle is no longer subject to any dogma and will create a mass market within the next five years. Finally, it said that to win over new customers, the outdoor industry must find them where they are: in their 24/7 high-speed lives.
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