Key Trends in the U.S Sports Equipment Market

Sports equipment, consists of the instruments, components, clothing, and gear needed to play in a sport. It varies depending on the sport. Balls, nets, and protective gear such as helmets are among the items that fall under sports equipment. Sporting equipment may be used as protective gear or as a support to aid athletes in their performance. Sporting equipment has changed over time as sports have become more complex requiring more protective gear to prevent injuries. The demand for sports equipment is bolstering on account of rising per capita disposable income and consumer spending coupled with more health-conscious individuals and the rising problem of obesity. In the USA, the Sports equipment market is still on the rise even with the novel coronavirus pandemic due to the growing importance of health. The consumers are engaged in activities that are intended to improve health and aid weight loss.

Driving Forces of U.S. Sports Equipment Market

Being globally competitive is one of the significant factors that is driving the sports equipment industry. The ability to sell goods internationally is the industry's growth engine. Global competitiveness, as previously mentioned, is what propelling the US sports equipment industry, especially in the manufacturing sector. Companies attempt to transfer their commodity manufacturing to areas of the world where wages and other production costs are lower. Many US sports equipment manufacturers, for example, have manufacturing facilities in Asia and/or South America, where wage rates are significantly lower than in the United States.

The flourishing e-commerce industry is a key trend that is observed in the US sports equipment market. Internet play a significant role in the sale of sports equipment, however, its importance can also be seen in other aspects of the business. In the United States, where internet penetration is highest in the world currently, 90.3% of the whole population of 7.8 billion people use the internet on a regular basis as per the Internet World Stats,2020. With the rising internet usage, more and more consumers prefer to buy goods such as sports equipment online where they can conveniently compare various products and prices and can shop at their leisure in the comfort of their own home or workplace.

Source- Internet World Stats

Digital workout has become the hot trend since the COVID 19 pandemic. Physical distance and stay-at-home requirements drove a significant change toward digital health over the past year. Traditional sports and exercise will not be completely replaced by digital fitness but will be enhanced in a "bionic" hybrid model. Digital workouts will remain popular in 2021 and beyond, particularly if they have an engaging and motivating aspect and allow for remote exercise in a virtual community environment.

Source- University of Oregon

Opportunities and Challenges

Fatpos Global predicts that the U.S. Sports Equipment market is anticipated to register a significant CAGR in the coming decade owing to the rise in sports participation activities as well as the growing popularity of alternative exercises including CrossFit and yoga that have stimulated the demand for related apparel and sporting goods in the US. The increasing presence of online stores in the US is projected to provide a lucrative opportunity to the U.S. Sports Equipment market in the near future. Although the market also faces some challenges besides opportunities such as increasing availability of counterfeit products and the high cost of sports equipment.