The next installment in our series highlighting the top-selling products and brands with data from Circana focuses on water and warm weather accessories. Specifically, we’re looking at sunglasses – a fiercely competitive category – and standup paddleboards (SUPs), as well as hard-sided coolers.
The following is based on U.S. outdoor specialty and sport specialty e-commerce channels combined sales data for the 12 months ending July 2024 collected by Circana’s Retail Tracking Service.
Top-Selling Sunglasses
The winners in this year’s sunglasses category have found the right blend of fashion and function, targeting consumers who require resilient, high-functioning gear that can be worn in multiple settings.
Top-Selling Items:
- Oakley’s Sutro Prizm: Oakley’s Sutro shape came out of research that showed that cyclists want a less aggressively sporty shape in their eyewear, but still desire full functionality. The Prizm lens emphasizes contrast and color.
- Smith Optics’ Wildcat: Smith’s Wildcat sunglasses are similarly easy to wear both on or off the bike, while running, or in the snow. Functionality includes details like non-slip pads and the brand’s ChromaPop lens technology.
- Goodr’s Bosley Basset Hound Dreams: At around $25 per pair, it’s hard to choose from Goodr’s huge selection of frames, but the classic, goes-with-everything Bosley Basset Hound Dreams style is hard to beat.
The Oakley Sutro with Prizm lens. Photo courtesy of Oakley.
Top brands:
- Goodr: The California-based brand has mastered the art of fashion, function, and pricing. Considering that Goodr’s price points are $30 or less, it’s impressive that Goodr is the No. 1 selling brand by dollars.
- Smith: With its impressive focus on innovation, Smith Optics has been a high performer in Safilo Group’s portfolio.
- Oakley: With headline-grabbing designs like the Plantaris and the nervous system-inspired QNTM Kato, it’s no surprise that Oakley is a favorite among athletes and adventurers.
Top-Selling Stand-up Paddleboards
Sales of SUPs have cooled since the pandemic, making the competition among brands to reach consumers even fiercer. Bote makes all top three of the best-selling paddleboards with products from its Wulf and Breeze Aero lines, while NRS and Loon rounded out second and third place among paddleboard brands.
Top-selling items:
- Bote’s Wulf Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board with Paddle 10 feet four inches: The Wulf SUP by Bote is a beginner friendly design at a beginner-level price.
- Bote’s Breeze Aero with Paddle 11 feet six inches: The Breeze Aero line is suitable for both beginner and experienced paddlers, and uses the brand’s lightweight, durable AeroULTRA technology.
- Bote’s Breeze Aero with Paddle 10 feet eight inches: The Breeze Aero 10 feet eight inches weighs approximately 20 pounds and comes with a magnetic cup holder that’s compatible with Bote drinkware.
Photo courtesy of Bote.
Top brands:
- Bote: A key brand under the Kent Outdoors portfolio, Bote regularly tops lists of the best stand-up paddleboards on the market.
- NRS: Northwest River Supplies launched its new SUPs this year, which are designed for specific paddling styles and use woven drop stitches for stiff-but-light boards.
- Loon: Wisconsin’s Loon Paddle Company makes inflatable and hard SUPs specifically designed for flatwater paddling.
Top-Selling Hard-Sided Coolers
Yeti and Igloo make regular appearances in lists of the best hard-sided coolers on the market, while Dometic is known for its innovative electric coolers.
Top-selling items:
- Yeti’s Roadie 24 QT Cooler: These compact coolers fit 33 cans, or 26 pounds of ice, and are tall enough for a bottle of wine.
- Yeti’s Tundra 45 QT Cooler: Fitting 54 cans or 37 pounds of ice, this size of the Tundra cooler is best suited for one overnight camping trip for four people or drinks for a day.
- Yeti’s Tundra 65 QT Cooler: Yeti recommends the larger model for a weekend camping trip for four people, which can fit 77 cans or 58 pounds of ice.
The Yeti Roadie 24. Photo courtesy of Yeti.
Top brands:
- Yeti: There’s more to Yeti than its products’ seasonal and on-trend colors. The brand’s hard-sided coolers also come with trademarked design features like non-slip feet and the “HeftyHauler” handle, which allows carriers to use one hand rather than two.
- Dometic: Dometic is no stranger to innovation, either, with its unique line of insulated boxes, ice chests, and electric coolers.
- Igloo: With many models made in the USA, Igloo’s hard coolers are sleek, colorful, and competitively priced.
To learn more about other top sellers in the outdoor industry, contact Julia Day, business development director at Circana.
