(This story was updated on 8/29/2023.)

Expanding participation and attracting new consumers will require the outdoor industry to think more broadly.

To find out how to appeal to the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts – and future customers – The Daily talked to brands, retailers, and marketing firms that are having success reaching and understanding younger consumers.

Their suggestions ranged from the need for brands to emphasize authenticity, embrace true diversity, and feature less strenuous outdoor pursuits, to retailers being open to selling and marketing more lifestyle-oriented products versus focusing solely on technical gear.

No More Tokenism

For one, outdoor companies trying to bring new consumers into their market should focus on a key idea: Authenticity.

That means no tokenism. No pandering to diversity by just adding one person of color to marketing materials. No manufactured set ups in advertising.

“The consumer can see through inauthentic attempts to connect with them,” said Allison Levy, co-founder of Hikerkind, a women’s outdoor apparel brand based in New York City that serves a younger demographic.

“If it’s speaking to them in a way that’s patronizing, the consumer is a lot more aware of these kinds of tactics and can see through them.”

Anastasia Pelot, content marketing manager for YPulse, a Gen Z and Millennial market research firm, agrees.

“Gen Z sees through that in like .2 seconds,” Pelot said. “What Gen Z wants to see on social media, advertising, and marketing is authenticity. Using real people instead of models. Using real situations instead of fabricating something.”

According to Pelot, if the younger generation is interested in an activity, but they feel as a woman, or a person of color, or as someone who doesn’t fit a certain body type that they’re not welcomed, then they won’t want to participate in those spaces.

“If they’re not seeing themselves represented, then they’re going to feel like they have to do it their own way, and they’re not going to engage with the traditional brands,” she said.

Gelling with Gen Z

A lot of companies say they’re passionate about social causes such as inclusivity and diversity, but don’t have much “gumption,” behind their passions, Pelot said.

Members of Gen Z, defined as those born from 1997 to 2013, on the other hand, live their values, she said.

“The main thing the outdoor space needs to realize is that Gen Z wants to be in those spaces, but they want to do it on their own terms,” Pelot said.

Take the TikTok trend of “soft hiking.” The trend started after two women in their early 20s grew tired of their previous hiking group which consisted of overly serious members who all wore perfect gear and went on “unnecessarily strenuous” hikes.

“They were like ‘I just want to get out in nature. I don’t want to have to train and train just to hike this mountain in my city,’” Pelot said.

Gen Z is focused on wellness, but their definition of it may be different than that of other generations. They think of wellness as part of their overall lifestyle, and they don’t have to perfect every activity.

“They want to be able to try a bunch of different things,” Pelot said. “They just hate the barriers they feel are in the way.”

Screen Time a Given

In addition to authenticity and accessibility, legacy outdoor brands would be well-served to not pit themselves against technology.

For example, the outdoors is often positioned as an antidote to the ills of technology and too much phone time. The younger outdoor audience wants to be able to integrate technology into their activities, according to Pelot.

“They don’t think it has to be one or the other,” she said. While they do see how social media such as TikTok and Instagram can be addictive, they also use those apps as tools to learn and to connect with people who have the same interests.

“It’s both. They want to disconnect, but they don’t think that you have to disconnect to be a part of those spaces or to take advantage of the benefits that being outdoors offers,” Pelot added. “There’s not going to be a near future where Gen Z isn’t using technology.”

This women-led day hike was part of a monthly series SEED and Hikerkind have partnered on in working toward making the outdoors more accessible and inclusive. Photo by Noah Klabin.

Multi-Use Gear

For Hikerkind, their future consumer is a Gen Z or Millennial woman who either is experiencing the outdoors for the first time or rediscovering it as an adult.

These customers are not solely focused on hiking or outdoor activities.

“They’re very multi-dimensional. They have a lot of different interests. This just happens to be one of them,” said Levy, with Hikerkind. “And they want to find a community to do it with because they really value those in-person experiences, making friendships, and having things to connect over.”

This consumer also values efficient clothing, meaning they’re not going to have three different wardrobes for yoga, an outdoor activity, and everyday wear.

For example, they want pants they can wear for work, but they can also wear on a hike.

“It’s about not having to add time into your day to make a special trip to pick up other gear to wear,” Levy said.

As the outdoor industry evolves beyond the white, male-dominated market of the past, Levy is seeing emerging brands that reflect the changing, more-diverse demographics. She also mentioned that the bigger players in the space see the outdoor industry becoming more diverse and are in turn diversifying their own companies.

“Whether that be inclusive sizing, or just creating an environment that breaks down barriers that new consumers previously faced,” she added.

To help make the outdoors more accessible, Hikerkind has formed a club that plans out excursions “every step of the way to get from the city to the trailhead. So that first barrier is eliminated, and the intimidation factor is gone,” Levy said.

Once those customers go on their first hike, the hope is that they continue to do it on their own.

“We know how hard it is to break into something that you are unfamiliar with,” Levy said. “We want to really make it less intimidating, make it more enticing, and also just easier to access.”

Fun and Fashionable

It’s no secret that the outdoor industry has an aging problem. Leading industry retailer REI says only 29% of its members are under 40.

Yet some upstart outdoor brands such as Cotopaxi and Topo Designs are doing a good job of grabbing younger customers, said Tommy Monette, director of wholesale at sustainable clothing brand Outerknown.

They’re able to attract some of those new entrants to the space by using size-inclusive and diverse models in their advertising and making the outdoors seem fun but also fashionable, he added.

Monette said some of the more exciting brands in the outdoor space are making their apparel seem more like streetwear than traditional outdoor clothing, which plays well for the TikTok crowd.

“It kind of hurts my heart to say, but kids are influenced by social media now more than ever,” Monette said. “And if you want to capture kids, and you want to get them into something, it’s got to hit that social trend and go over the top.”

He admitted that much of that viral success can be a flash in the pan, so it’s important for brands to stay true to who they are.

For example, when Stanley’s Quencher cup became the “it” tumbler among influencers, it became so popular it was hard to find one anywhere.

But that success was the result of Stanley making quality products. It just happened to catch the attention of the right demographic to cause that one product to take off, he said.

Monette said that’s out of the control of most brands, and trying to manufacture something to capture the younger crowd is transparent to the point of not working.

“To use a kid’s term, it’s cringey when you see it,” he added. “You can’t manufacture authenticity. Either you have it or you don’t.”  

Learning about the local habitat and efforts to protect ecosystems was part of the conversation on the hike. Photo by Noah Klabin.

Retail Strategies

Despite all of the talk about the future consumer being more diverse, some say it’s already happening.

Ian VanDam, founder of Field Theory, a St. Louis, Missouri, specialty outdoor retailer, said that change is what’s most exciting about today’s outdoor industry.

“For the first time in my life, I’m noticing a massive diversification and stratification of backgrounds and interests, as well as development of subcultures within the outdoor community,” he said.

“That’s posing new challenges, but also new opportunities to engage people.”

He mentioned Hikerkind as a good example of a brand that is intentional and thoughtful in its design, down to the way the clothes fit and the colors it uses.

“It feels really authentic,” VanDam said. “It’s really exciting to see an entrepreneur duo out in New York making crazy things happen.”

As a smaller retailer at 2,000 square feet, Field Theory is taking a different tack than other larger outdoor stores. VanDam is looking for fresh brands that are more stylish and inspired by designers from outside of the traditional outdoor space.

He realizes he can’t compete with the giants on price, so his approach is to appeal to new consumers by offering the best curation he can, focusing on quality.

“The only way for me to survive and compete is to offer something that doesn’t have the same alignment (as big stores),” VanDam said.

He’s exploring Japanese, European, and smaller U.S. designers. For example, in Europe he likes Swedish brand Houdini Sportswear, which is making exciting water-resistant and non-Gore-Tex fabrics.

“It’s one of those brands that the second you put it in your hand you realize that it just leaves behind its competition in so many ways,” VanDam said.

Lifestyle Over Technical

Other retailers are finding new customers by offering products that are less traditionally “outdoor,” and more lifestyle.

River Sports Outfitters in Knoxville, Tennessee, is about a mile and a half down the road from the University of Tennessee.

Just recently, the store put up a billboard outside of the college with an all-white Hoka shoe on it.

As an “old-school” store that’s been in business for 40 years and that’s historically been oriented toward technical gear, the billboard is a departure. That Hoka shoe isn’t even waterproof.

“But that’s what’s driving our younger customer,” said Brooke Phibbs, the store’s general manager.

Aside from Hoka, the store has sold “the heck out of” Swiss shoe brand On’s Cloud 5 style, which is far more popular than the other waterproof On styles River Sports carries.

“It’s the lifestyle piece,” that’s selling well with the younger customer, Phibbs said.

To River Sports, the future consumer is much more willing to wear athleisure or even athletic brands to do traditional outdoor activities, instead of technical outdoor apparel, which was more common in the past.

“I think people are starting to understand they can get more value out of the dollars that they’re spending,” Phibbs said.

Another billboard example that shows the push toward diversity in the outdoor industry: The store put up a Fjällräven billboard with an image of a black woman and white man backdropped by mountains.

“It created a lot of talk,” Phibbs said. “We had a lot of customers come in and ask for Fjällräven just because we had that image up. We caught a whole new demographic that way, which was really awesome.”

Bart Schaneman can be reached at [email protected].