(This story was updated on 7/21/2023.)

The time is ripe for brands to release innovative products, and activewear brands are rising to the top of key categories over traditional outdoor brands. 

Those are just two industry insights offered up by Julia Day, executive director of business development in the sports category for consumer behavior research firm Circana, formerly The NPD Group, in an interview with The Daily. 

Circana also provided data highlighting the top 10 bestselling items at retail in the outdoor industry in the following categories: sweatshirts, running footwear, pants (excluding athletic) and stainless-steel bottles/insulated containers. Day provided the data about top-selling items during a presentation at the Outdoor Retailer Snow Show in January.

The Time to Innovate is Now 

Across all the categories that Circana tracks, from beauty to toys to technology products, the historical percentage of new products on a sales floor is around 5%. 

However, during the COVID pandemic the percentage of new products started to fall, and by July 2022, it was down to around 1.5%, an all-time low, according to Day. 

Companies say that supply chain issues and shipping delays during the pandemic, and now macroeconomic headwinds, are causing them to pull back on innovation. 

But Day sees it as an opportunity. 

“1.5% of products that are sold are new. That means there’s less innovation in the marketplace. Now’s the time to introduce your new products,” she said. “It may be harder, it may be more challenging, but you’ve got less competition right now for new products. So those new products are going to stand out.” 

From the retail perspective, “consumers are always looking for newness,” Day said. 

Innovation also helps the market grow overall, she added. 

Top-Selling Brands and Items 

In 2022, the U.S. outdoor industry amassed $27.9 billion in retail sales. 

According to data from Circana, that was up 5% from the previous year. The total number of units sold was down 1%, but the average price rose 6%. 

The figures below are from October 2021-October 2022.

Top 10 Selling Items in the Outdoor Industry
Sweatshirts (excluding athletic)	(dollars sold)
Carhartt MENS SIGN SLEEVE LOGO MW HOODED SWEATSHIRT	$50
The North Face MEN’S HALF DOME PULLOVER HOODIE	$50
Carhartt WOMENS CLARKSBURG GRAPH HOODIE	$49
The North Face WOMENS HALF DOME PO HOODIE	$49
The North Face MENS BOX HOOD SWEATSHIRT	$51
The North Face MENS TEXTURED CAP ROCK ¼ ZIP FLEECE SWEATSHIRT	$61
Carhartt MENS PAXTON HEAVY WEIGHT HOODED SWEATSHIRT	$52
Vuori WOMENS HALO PERFORMANCE HOODIE SWEATSHIRT	$84
Vuori WOMENS HALO ESSENTIAL HOODIE SWEATSHIRT	$82
The North Face MENS GORDON LYONS 1/4 ZIP SWEATSHIRT	$83
Running Footwear	(dollars sold)
Brooks GHOST 14	$123
Brooks ADRENALINE GTS 22	$135
Hoka One One BONDI 7	$146
Hoka One One CLIFTON 8	$132
Nike AIR ZOOM PEGASUS 38	$104
Adidas ULTRABOOST 5.0 DNA	$155
Brooks REVEL 5	$95
On CLOUD 5	$134
On CLOUDSWIFT	$142
Nike AIR ZOOM PEGASUS 39	$123
Pants (excluding athletic)	(dollars sold)
Vuori WOMENS PERFORMANCE JOGGER PANT	$82
Vuori MENS PONTO PERFORMANCE PANT	$81
Carhartt MENS RUGGED FLEX RIGBY DUNGAREE PANT	$45
Kuhl MENS RADIKL PANT	$94
Carhartt MENS RUGGED FLEX 5 PKT CARHARTT PANT	$46
Vuori MENS SUNDAY PERFORMANCE JOGGER PANT	$86
Kuhl MENS RENEGADE ROCK PANT	$84
Kuhl WOMENS FREEFLEX ROLL UP PANT	$84
Columbia MENS SILVER RIDGE CONVERTIBLE PANT	$58
Patagonia MENS TERRABONE JOGGER PANT	$84
Stainless Steel Bottles/Insulated Containers	(dollars sold)
YETI RAMBLER TUMBLER 20OZ	$30
Hydro Flask 32 OZ WIDE MOUTH 2.0 W/ FLEX CAP	$39
YETI RAMBLER TUMBLER 30OZ	$35
Stanley Outdoor ADVENTURE VACUUM QUENCHER 40OZ	$39
Hydro Flask 40 OZ WIDE MOUTH 2.0 W/ FLEX CAP	$43
YETI RAMBLER TRAVEL MUG W/ STRONGHOLD LID 30OZ	$40
YETI RAMBLER BOTTLE 26OZ	$37
Hydro Flask STANDARD MOUTH BOTTLE 24OZ	$30
YETI RAMBLER TRAVEL MUG W/ STRONGHOLD LID 20OZ	$36
YETI RAMBLER MUG 14OZ	$29

Source: The NPD Group/Outdoor Industry View, Athletic Specialty/Sporting Goods, Outdoor Specialty and Sports Specialty E-commerce Channels.

The Rise of Active and Athletic Brands 

In certain categories, such as sweatshirts sold by specialty outdoor retailers, Day emphasized that where a legacy outdoor brand such as Patagonia had dominated for years, now active clothing brands such as Vuori are at the top.

“That’s very, very different than what traditionally was showing up in the specialty stores,” she added.

In running footwear, as another example, Brooks’ Ghost is dominating.

“That’s significant in and of itself, because 10 years ago, 15 years ago, Brooks wasn’t even selling in that channel,” Day said.

Overall Outdoor Industry Results

As far as industry channel performance, athletic specialty and sporting goods were up 3% to $20.2 billion, outdoor specialty was up 16% to $4.5 billion and sports specialty e-commerce was up 5% to $3.2 billion for the 12 months ended Jan. 31, 2023.

At a high level, Day pointed out that outerwear and sweatshirts are driving the apparel category.

Sales of bottles dipped during COVID, but grew again as people went back to school, concerts and travel.

Camp chairs and coolers sold well as people explored outdoor lifestyle options. Solo Stove was the top seller in the campfire category.

Day attributed some of the increase in sales of campfire-related goods to consumers buying both for nostalgic reasons and for improved mental health.

“It’s connecting and stories and how they’re saying relationships now make you a happier person, this whole mental health thing,” she said.

Bart Schaneman can be reached at [email protected].