Outdoor specialty retailers had a better-than-expected holiday season, with stronger sales results than 2023, according to retailers and industry trade groups.
Among 89 retailers who reported their December numbers to Grassroots Outdoor Alliance (GOA), sales were up by 3.81% year-over-year, said GOA President Gabe Maier in an email to SESO.
“That’s a strong result, particularly given that the season was shorter by one week between Thanksgiving and Christmas compared to the previous year,” Maier said.
November sales were strong as well, according to some accounts.
“Holidays for us were stronger than expected – about 30% up over 2023,” said Lloyd Vogel, co-founder and CEO of Garage Grown Gear in St. Paul, Minn.
“Cyber Monday was our biggest sales day to date and, unlike previous years, December and January didn’t just fall off a proverbial cliff,” he said. “Both saw continued strong sales.”
GOA’s data echoes that collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, which showed that core retail sales during the holiday season grew by 4% to $994.1 billion – a record, and better than what the National Retail Federation (NRF) had anticipated.
Sales for the full year grew by 3.6% year-over-year to $5.28 trillion.
“Consumers came out to spend this holiday season and clearly underscored the solid growth in the U.S. economy,” said NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz in a statement. “The spending pace was back to pre-pandemic growth and indicates a good start for the year ahead.”
The shorter holiday season likely drove more shoppers online, but there was also a return to in-person shopping and plenty of early buying, Kleinhenz said.
“The 2024 figures were driven in part by lower inflation compared with 2023, particularly for goods,” Kleinhenz said. “Even though consumers are still relatively healthy and there was a notable increase in spending, they remain budget conscious.”
Unsurprisingly, colder weather later in the season helped boost outdoor specialty sales following milder weather earlier on.
“Weather was, as always, up and down temperature-wise,” said Ed McAlister, president of River Sports Outfitters in Knoxville, Tenn. River Sports shoppers were more tentative this year, he said, although sales were slightly up year-over-year.
What Sold Well in Specialty Retail
Anecdotally, GOA members said that the strongest categories through the holiday period were lifestyle apparel, footwear, running, and some select hardgoods categories such as travel and ski products, Maier said.

Gabe Maier, president of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance. File photo by SESO.
McAlister said there was a slowdown in some of the standard fleece pieces that had previously been bestsellers, and traditional hiking boots sales also declined. On the positive side, lower temperatures have created strong demand for base layers, he said. Comfort and fashion were still steady, but there are signs that could slow, he said.
Softgoods and new niche brands took center stage at Roads Rivers and Trails in Milford, Ohio, said co-owner Emily White.
Similarly at Garage Grown Gear, which specializes in ultralight gear, the store’s best-selling products were all new, unique items, Vogel said.
He highlighted the grizzly bear-resistant Ultralight Food Locker by Adotec; Nitecore’s NB10000 Gen 3 Power Bank; Alpenglow Gear’s Alpenblow Micro Inflator; and the Super Thermo Long Sleeve Shirt Baselayer with Inlay by Brynje.
Suzanne Mayerchak, CEO of Walkabout Outfitter, an outdoor retailer with six stores in Virginia, said all brands of puffy jackets, Vuori, Patagonia, Birkenstock, Darn Tough, Smartwool, and Kuhl were “on fire” this holiday season, leading sales among all the brands carried at the retailer.
Outlook for 2025
Walkabout’s outlook is positive for 2025, Mayerchak said, adding that it has already seen growth thus far. It plans to continue to reduce inventory and increase inventory control, which is the stores’ largest expense, she said. Because inventory has grown too much post-pandemic, the Walkabout team will be implementing additional procedures to reduce inventory levels with a categorized buying plan, stale inventory reduction plan, and more.
“It’s a difficult balance, because on one hand you want what folks need and desire, but on the other, you can’t carry everything,” she said.
The strategy for Walkabout’s newest store in Williamsburg, Virg., which just opened in Nov. 2023, is to continue to seek out unique, quality items that might speak to a tourist visiting – possibly a gift for someone or for themselves, something they wouldn’t normally purchase at home – while also serving locals.
Roads Rivers and Trails will continue its intentional focus on sustainably manufactured goods that are made from environmentally-friendly materials, and on relationships with brand partners that value the specialty wholesale channel, White said.
And Garage Grown Gear will also stay true to its ultralight backpacking roots by adding new, interesting brands to its roster. It will also expand into footwear, introduce a chat option for customer service, launch direct mail and SMS campaigns as well as a new community education series called Bluprint, Vogel said. The team will also reconsider its social media strategy on Instagram and Facebook.
Tariffs Top of Mind
While retailers are cautiously optimistic about 2025, tariffs and their potential impacts on consumer spending could be challenging to specialty retailers.
As of Monday, the Trump administration agreed to pause the implementation of 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada for 30 days, while a 10% tariff increase on goods from China was implemented on Tuesday. Chinese officials said it would respond with a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products, and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large engine cars imported from the U.S. starting on Feb. 10.
“In the coming year we will still feel the effects of the election as tariffs are on the minds of vendors and consumers,” McAlister said. “If they go through with it, it will damage some brands, as the customer can’t afford to spend several hundred dollars more on a high-end canoe or kayak. I still think consumers will keep a tight wallet until they know which way the wind is blowing.”
Maier said GOA members are, as usual, doubling down on in-store customer experience and ensuring that they’re aligned with brands that have a long-term, specialty-focused, go-to-market strategy.
“There is some uncertainty there, but if brands and retailers communicate well with each other, that will help them to adjust and pivot depending on where things net out,” Maier said.
Kate Robertson can be reached at kate@shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com.