Key Takeaways:
- Flat outdoor dollar sales masked a steep unit decline over the past 12 months.
- U.S. sports equipment sales held flat at $42 billion, with higher prices offsetting falling unit volume.
- Winter and Snow Sports posted the steepest declines of any sports equipment category.
Matt Tucker, Executive Director of Client Development for Sports Equipment at Circana, presented the firm’s latest retail and consumer trends report on the Outdoor Retailer Minneapolis show floor.
He told brands and retailers that growth is becoming more reliant on increased average selling prices rather than unit gains, that basics are maintaining volume while innovation drives incremental growth, and that demand generation now hinges on appealing to accessibility, fitness, and lifestyle integration.
Chief among the findings: flat dollar sales across the outdoor industry masked a 4% unit decline over the 12 months ending June 2026.
That means higher prices, not more purchases, are what’s holding the category’s numbers up.
The Consumer Backdrop
Circana’s data points to a consumer under continued financial pressure:
- The Consumer Price Index sat at 3.5% as of the most recent reading.
- Gasoline prices remained elevated amid global uncertainty.
- The personal saving rate slipped to 2.7%, its lowest level since 2022.
- Credit card debt climbed to $1.25 trillion, near an all-time high.
- Consumer sentiment rose 1.5 percentage points to 33.4% on the CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index, though slower job growth and renewed geopolitical tensions continued to complicate the outlook.
Outdoor Category Snapshot
Within outdoor specifically, over the 12 months ending June 2026:
- Footwear: $17.1 billion, up 1%.
- Apparel: $14.9 billion, flat.
- Equipment: $10.9 billion, down 3%.
- Accessories: $1.5 billion, up 1%.
Sports Equipment Holds Flat at $42 Billion
Total U.S. sports equipment sales were flat at $42 billion over the trailing 12 months, broken out by category:
- Outdoor: $10.9 billion, down 3%.
- Team sports: $9.1 billion, up 3%.
- Cycling: $5.9 billion, down 2%.
- Golf specialty: $5.5 billion, up 6%.
- Fishing equipment: $3.2 billion, up 4%.
- Winter and snow sports: $2.9 billion, down 5%.
- Shooting sports: $2.4 billion, down 3%.
- Health and fitness: $2.3 billion, up 1%.
Circana attributed constrained growth in total sports equipment sales to the pull forward of outdoor and cycling purchases during the pandemic boom, along with extended replenishment cycles.
Winter and Snow Sports Post the Steepest Declines
Winter and Snow Sports was the weakest performing major sports equipment category in Circana’s data:
- 12 months ending June 2026: $2.9 billion in sales, down 5%, the steepest 12-month decline of any sports equipment category tracked.
- Year to date through June 2026: down 8% in dollars and 10% in units, the steepest year-to-date drop of any category.
- Circana attributed the decline in part to a lack of snowfall in the Western U.S.
Camping, Hydration and Accessories Diverge
Within outdoor equipment specifically, sales leveled at $5.3 billion year to date through June, even as units continued to recede, down 6%:
- Camping: $1.8 billion, down 1%.
- Water sports: $706 million, down 2%.
- Climbing: $116 million, up 8% despite a 14% unit decline.
Coolers
Coolers proved resilient within equipment accessories, growing 5% overall:
- Hard-sided coolers: $430 million, up 5%.
- Soft-sided coolers: $298 million, up 3%.
- Portable power generators: $215 million, up 18% in dollars and 22% in units, the fastest growing accessory.
- Bottles and insulated containers: $342 million, down 12%.
Camping Notes
Broader camping equipment sales declined 4% over the past 12 months but only 1% year to date:
- Camp chairs led the category at $504 million, up 8% in dollars despite a 2% unit decline.
- Camp tables were the weakest performer, down 12% in dollars.
Hydration
Hydration sales declined 2% to $4.2 billion over the past 12 months, with a steeper 10% drop in units:
- Bottles and insulated containers: down 11%.
- Hydration accessories: down 16%.
Accessories
In accessories sales tracked across athletic specialty and sporting goods stores and specialty retail channels, sales rose 1.4% on a 4% unit decline, with average selling prices up 5% year to date:
- Backpacks: $225 million, tied for the category lead.
- Sunglasses: $225 million, tied for the category lead.
- Fanny, waist, and chest packs: the weakest performer, down 19%.
Team Sports Participation Climbs
Circana’s report also pointed to strong underlying participation trends supporting equipment demand.
Team sports posted the fastest year-over-year growth of any category, up 6.9%, surpassing 90 million participants and led by outdoor soccer and basketball, according to Sports and Fitness Industry Association data cited in the presentation.
Golf equipment led dollar growth among sports and team sports equipment categories, reaching $203.4 million.
Older, Higher Income Shoppers Carry General Merchandise as Private Label Gains Share
Consumers age 55 and older accounted for nearly 40% of general merchandise sales and gained share, while 18- to 24-year-olds posted the steepest declines, the report found.
High-income households grew in 2025, while broader declines across middle- and lower-income groups intensified retail headwinds.
Sports equipment also saw one of the largest shifts to private label of any general merchandise category over the 12 months ending June 2026, with penetration reaching 14%, up 0.6 percentage points versus the prior year.
TikTok Shop Gains Ground, Still Small Slice of the Pie
TikTok Shop remains a small piece of total retail, accounting for 1% of total retail sales and 3% of e-commerce sales over the 13 weeks ending January 4, 2026, but its footprint in outdoor categories is growing.
Sports and Outdoor ranked among TikTok Shop’s top five mega categories, generating $1.4 billion in sales over the 39 weeks ending July 5, 2026.
Hunting, fishing, and camping products sold $33.8 million on TikTok Shop in the trailing 13 weeks ending June 28, 2026, up 19% versus the prior period.
Across the broader U.S. retail market, spanning general merchandise, food and beverage, apparel and other tracked categories beyond just outdoor, e-commerce accounted for 27% of dollars over the 12 months ending March 2026, up 1.3 percentage points versus the prior year, and drove about 64% of overall dollar growth.
Photo courtesy of Outdoor Retailer.
