The outerwear category has seen a small sales gain in the past 12 months thanks to the long winter in some parts of the country, according to data from Circana (formerly The NPD Group and IRI).
Outerwear Sales up 1% to $3.5 billion
“The long – and in some cases never-ending – winter has boded well for outerwear sales,” said Julia Day, executive director business development, sports, for Circana. “A cold and wet spring will continue the demand for layering and shells.”
Brick-and-Mortar Sales Rise, E-commerce Declines
Outerwear sales by channel:
Sporting goods – up 4%.
Outdoor specialty stores – up 1%.
Specialty e-commerce – down 4%.
“The cold weather appears to have driven consumers into stores to make their outerwear purchases,” Day said. “Meanwhile, e-commerce has leveled out since its COVID-19 surge and consumers are opting to purchase in-store versus online.”
Burton AK Outerwear. The Daily file photo.
Women Drive Growth in Outerwear Tops – Vests the Star
Sales of outerwear tops for both genders rose 3% in the past 12 months, and accounts for the largest share of outerwear sales.
Women’s drove the growth in outerwear tops:
Women’s vests jumped 18%.
Women’s coats/jackets/parkas rose 5%.
Meanwhile, sales of outerwear bottoms declined 4%.
Rain Jackets Up Double Digits, Puffers Rise, Too
Rain jackets: up 22%.
Puffers: up 5%.
Insulated Shells Fall
By outerwear style:
Insulated shells, which account for 50% of outerwear sales, dropped slightly with a 1% decline.
Non-insulated shells grew the fastest.
“The milder winter in the Northeast seems to have driven sales of shells for rain rather than insulated outerwear, while the tremendous winter in the West has driven the insulated puffer sales,” Day said.
Source: Circana/Retail Tracking Service, U.S. dollar sales,12 months ending February 2023 vs. prior year.
More market data: NPD Names Fastest Growing Brands at Outdoor Specialty Retail
Tiffany Montgomery can be reached at tiffany@shop-eat-surf.com.
