Outdoor Retailer - January 2021 - 30

IDEAS
PERSPECTIVE

The Outdoor
Moment
Our trade secret is a secret no
more. by Chris Goddard

30 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ January 2021

More new participants will try
outdoor winter sports for the
first time this year-but will
they continue to come back?

Dining outside beckoned consumers looking for a change of scenery and normalcy.
Yoga, Barre, Spin classes, and workouts of
all kinds saw trainers bringing their classes
and students outdoors.
Schools, where possible, held classes in the
outdoors, combining social studies and history with the riches of sunshine.
Creativity certainly inspired the best in us-
fostering drive-by graduations, birthdays,
engagements, and weddings-all outside and
socially distanced.
We found hope and peace in our backyards
during the summer, with hammocks in our
favorite trees, campgrounds with the comforts
of home set up 3 feet from the back door, not to
mention grabbing some popcorn and watching our favorite movies projected on the garage door. Fire pits were and are having their
" it " moment. Good luck trying to find one now.
We sold more everyday products-not gear
meant for Everest. We sold walking shoes and
casual hikers. We changed the way we sold
products, mastered the art of appointment
shopping, became clever at curbside pickup,
and became proficient at virtual store experiences. We talked differently about apparel
that keeps consumers warm and dry in easyto-understand terms.

New brands targeted the outdoors for
growth for the first time, including Walmart
and Kohl's-bringing the outdoor world to
where their consumers and those new to the
outdoor experience regularly shop while recognizing that everyone is not able to shop at
specialty stories or wants to shop online.
The outdoors couldn't even escape politics;
Presidential candidates were forced outdoors
for their rallies (some did it better than others).
So where does that leave us, and where do
we go next? What follows is part two of a column I wrote in April of this year. Today, we are
battered and bruised, yet we are smarter and
wiser. Our world changed and so did the outdoor industry-but this is just the beginning.
WHERE DO WE GO NEXT, PART TWO:
IT IS OUR TIME TO SHINE
Good news: The U.S. Bureau of Economic
Analysis recently confirmed the staying
power of the industry: It creates $788 billion in output, 2.1% of U.S. GDP, and supports 5.2 million jobs. Stellar numbers. Let's
relish this economic firepower.
More good news: The Biden administration
not only believes in protecting national parks,
but also in addressing climate change and
restoring the restrictions the Trump admin-

Scott Martin

THE LAST NINE MONTHS HAVE SEVERELY
shaken all of us to the core, with an unspeakable loss of over 245,000 Americans. It is gut
wrenching, and we are reminded daily of this
tragic toll. There are no words.
It was during these challenging and strange
times that the world discovered what we, this
community, already knew-that the outdoors
is damn good for the heart and soul, and that it
is there for us no matter how chaotic the world
around us may be. It has consistently nurtured
us through this new normal and provides a
sense of solace that we sorely need. And while,
at the time of this writing, we are still facing the difficulties of new COVID-19 surges,
would it be too much to say that it saved many?
Maybe it did. We'd like to think so.
" It " -as we saw during the spring, summer, and fall-included: the simple joys of
walking with family and friends early in the
morning, taking your dog to sniff his favorite
bushes, dusting off a 10-year-old bike to ride
around the neighborhood, going hiking in
tennis sneakers, and discovering the peace
of kayaking or stand-up paddleboarding in
a quiet harbor. " It " was also the sport of running, which exploded with new participants
and even virtual marathons.
Most importantly, we saw an entirely
new group of consumers discover the outdoors for the first time, and, according to
the April CGPR survey, 82% of these consumers say they will stay engaged in outdoor pursuits in the future. And, for that,
we are incredibly grateful.
This is not an errant trend or statistic; this is
a true connection to the mental and physical
benefits of nature. It is also our future.
We saw other facets of life move outdoors to
indulge in the outdoor fairy dust:

https://cgprpublicrelations.com/

Outdoor Retailer - January 2021

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