Outdoor product sales saw a 7.6 percent uptick in sales in March, driven by outdoor apparel, footwear and hardgoods sales — and led by sales through online and discount/mass retailers.
Outdoor product sales totaled $881.4 million in the month, according to the latest report by the Outdoor Industry Association Vantage Point data report.
Outdoor apparel sales increased 16.6 percent to $243.3 million for the five-week period ended April 6, 2013. Although apparel sales growth fell short of levels seen in the first two months of 2013 (increases between 19 and 30 percent) retailers continued to benefit from cooler weather, which drove the sale of outerwear tops later into the spring than last year. Headwear, handwear and undergarments sales each increased by 25 percent or more.
Following decreases in January and February, outdoor footwear sales moved up 4.3 percent from March 2012 to $239.6 million.
The OIA tracks sales by outdoor retailers. It does track bicycles and cycling products through those retailers. The OIA said the bicycle category posted double-digit gains versus the five-week comparable month last year.
Sales through the online retailers continued to gain strength, accounting for 9.8 percent of all outdoor product sales in March, up from 7.8 percent in March 2012.
Final results for the month are published in the OIA VantagePoint monthly trend report, available free of charge to OIA members.
