Sports is all about statistics and data. We love to analyse who made the most touchdowns and who had the best success rate in passing the ball. The world of sports doesn’t just use these statistics to improve players and performance – the commercial side of sports is also constantly measured and analysed. If you’re interested in knowing a bit more about the biggest brands in sports, the following five sports apparel industry sales statistics and trends are worth looking into.
Which company controls the market share?
The global sports apparel market is already a multi-billion market. According to Forbes, the market is only going to get bigger, growing at an estimated rate of 4% in the following few years. By 2019, the market is thought to be around $135 billion in value. So, which company controls the market or does anyone have an advantage?
The five biggest market players include Nike, Adidas, Puma, Under Armour and Lululemon Athletica. The latest figures showed Adidas in charge, with around $8 billion market share. Nike followed closely, with a market share of about $6 billion. The company also grew its apparel sales the quickest during 2010-2013. Interestingly, for Nike, the apparel sector is also an important part of the total brand. Around 35% of its stock value comes simply from the apparel sales.
These two companies are clearly ahead of everyone else. The next three players, Puma, Under Armour and Lululemon Athletica, follow with around $1 billion worth of sales in the market.
What region is growing the quickest?
If you’ve followed the world of business and economics in recent year, you know the talk has been about the rise of China and other growing economies in the region. It doesn’t come as a massive surprise then to learn that Asia is one of the strongest growing regions in terms of sports apparel. The region is currently growing at around 7%, with the global industry growth averaging 4% a year.
But Asia isn’t the fastest growing region. That spot is reserved for Middle East & Africa. The developing region has seen the apparel industry grow a massive 15% a year in recent years. This is a clear signal to most brands that by controlling the region, you also control the global market.
On the other side of the coin, you have the European markets, which have only witnessed a growth of 1% in recent years. This is a cause for concern for many brands, as even the Americas reach the average 4% a year growth.
What is the role of the Internet?
The rise of the Internet in terms of shopping has influenced a number of different industries and the sports apparel industry is not an exception. The interesting factor for the industry is how the Internet is increasingly influential in getting people to make shopping decisions, even though the actual shopping is still largely done offline. A Google and Compete study estimated 57% of apparel sales being driven by online influences, although the actual percentage of online shopping has remained relatively small in comparison to offline sales.
Nonetheless, consumers are turning to the Internet when they consider buying sports apparel. The Internet is often used for researching prices and reviews of a specific product like NIKE UK. Customers are turning to sites like House of Fraser to find special discount codes to make shopping sports apparel more affordable.
Where are people picking up the brands?
What are the online sources that drive the shopping decisions? As mentioned above, discount sites are a popular option for pushing people towards a specific brand, as the price is still a major influence in terms of the final shopping decision. People are also using social media to find suggestions and information. Video seems to be an increasingly popular driver of research, especially for Millennials. Nearly a quarter of people who use video to research a sports apparel brand also made a purchasing decision six times in a six-month span. Furthermore, around 28% of these people also spent over $500 on apparel. If you’re a sports brand, you had better sort out your video marketing to get customers.
What is the future platform for shopping?
As mentioned above, the future trends suggest sports apparel shopping will continue to move online. Not only are people making more of their shopping decisions based on findings on the Internet, but also the number of online shoppers is also continuously growing. For brands to survive the heating competition, online marketing will be the key to victory.
Furthermore, the platform of choice for both shopping and research will be mobile. Almost 50% of shoppers discover sports brands via a mobile device and people using mobile for research tend to buy more, and more frequently than other shoppers.
The above statistics and trends offer an interesting glimpse of the future of the sports apparel market. Learning more about these statistics is almost as exhilarating than following your favourite team – which might be about to change its apparel sponsor if the money is right!
