trends now

Bringing the Outdoors In-Store

Erinn Morgan

Sports-centered styles for hobbyists, lifestyle enthusiasts, and even those who just want to look the they're living the active life have proven to be survivors in today's challenging market. The behemoth Outdoor Retailer Summer Market (ORSM) 2010 trade show is but one recent example of the relative strength of the sports and outdoor enthusiast categories.

Compared to many others, this category has exhibited marked resilience in a turbulent economy. In fact, one of the most notable changes in the behavior of financially beleaguered consumers over the past few years included a return to the outdoors for recreation and less expensive travel options like camping.

Camping showed a nine percent increase in participation in 2008, while activities like backpacking, mountain biking, and trail running all experienced double-digit increases, according to the Outdoor Foundation's “Outdoor Recreation Participation Report 2009.”

Additionally, outdoor companies—from The North Face and Patagonia to Timberland and Gore-Tex—support nearly 6.5 million jobs and $289 billion in annual industry retail sales and services.

Below are a number of trends in gear, apparel, sporting goods, and sunwear targeted to outdoor sports enthusiasts—from skiers and hikers to kayakers and cyclists. EB covers some of this category's key trends—including how they relate to current sunwear trends—to help ECPs better appeal to their outdoor–inspired customers in the dispensary.

THE TREND: A WOMEN'S MOVEMENT

The fairer sex is stepping into the outdoors in greater numbers than ever before. Women accounted for 43 percent of the 135.9 million people over the age of six who participated in outdoor recreation in 2009, according to the “Outdoor Recreation Participation Report.”

Women represent 43 percent of the outdoor marketplace

Performance sunglasses style Zing for women from Zeal Optics

Savvy outdoor companies are reaching out to this consumer with increased product offerings that boast proper fit, performance, and a modicum of style. One of the strongest recent women's trends is the emergence of vibrant colors in the “lifestyle clothing” category, which includes everything from yoga wear to post-workout dresses, pants, and tops. The color wheel includes jewel tones like turquoise, fuchsia, and purple, plus bright greens.

Casual dresses in fabrics ranging from performance wool to organic cotton are also in the mix, as are easy layering looks. In this market, however, even casual clothing has to have a performance edge—while performance clothing has to deliver a dose of fashion. One prime example is Patagonia's Larissa jacket, which is a fully waterproof jacket that can also be worn for a night on the town.

THE TREND: ULTRA-LIGHT

The advent of lighter weight gear for outdoor pursuits has benefitted hardcore adventurers for years. This movement has become even more prolific with products that can appeal to the budgets and needs of even casual weekend warriors.

Standout products include the new Terra Nova Laser Ultra 1, which employs a superlight fabric to deliver a tent that weighs less than one pound, one ounce, and the eGear X-Flare rechargeable headlamp that pumps out 375-lumens and weighs less than 13 ounces.

One of the most notable overall trends at the show is the plethora of extremely minimal shoe designs geared to “barefoot” and “natural” running, sports trends that have been inspired in part by the best-selling book “Born to Run.”

Sports can be beautiful thanks to a whole movement in pretty and athletic looks for women such as Optic Nerve's style Anisette

The casual and nearly barefoot look is in style

Guaranteed to keep podiatry practices humming for years to come, this trend calls for running in shoes that look and fit like a glove. Examples include Merrell's Trail Glove and New Balance's Minimus collection.

THE TREND: BIG CREATURE COMFORTS

Flying in the face of the superlight trend is a movement toward supersized outdoor gear that provides extreme comfort and protection from the elements.

Last summer's ORSM show, for example, served up everything from a mammoth, portable camp shower from Zodi that delivers a hot, pushbutton shower to the 12-inch AirBedz air mattress that fits into a truck bed for plush accommodations.

Even surfing and river floating are getting cushy with the proliferation of standup paddleboards—a hot, up-and-coming product category. This sport employs a supersized (and super stable) surfboard propelled by the user, who stands up on the board using a paddle to move forward. EB

SUNWEAR PAIRING:

Luxury Lenses High-end lenses went mainstream in sunwear at shows like last summer's ORMA. For example, Smith extended its high-end TechLite (TLT) glass lenses, which were previously reserved for its fishing-specific sunwear, to its fashion line. Photochromics also got kicked up a notch with lenses that respond to visible light, not just UV rays. High-end lenses are popping up in sports lifestyle looks such as Smith Optics' Tenet