New Survival Trends Report

Increased bargain shopping, use of gift cards, andwas 45.7 years of age. However, young people
increased product differtiation marked some of(ages 6-17 years) for the most part, continue to
the recent trends among survival gear shoppersshow a decreased appetite for outdoor activities
going into the 2009 Holiday season.such as camping, backpacking, and hiking.
Some of the other trends noted were:Recent Sales Trends-
1) While there had been a slight increase last year(Retailers Cut Prices)
in camping (5.34%) and hiking (8.5%), the numberIn view of the recession, shoppers have become
of people actively hunting had decreased by 1.1bargain shoppers. This means that instead of
%.buying a premium brand name backpack, sleeping
2) Trail running, backpacking, and wildlife viewingbag, or tent, outdoor enthusiasts are going to the
increased by 15.2%, 18.5%, and 5.0% respectively.Big Box Stores retail outlet or website to
3) While there had been an upswing in outdoorpurchase their gear. The average price for a
camping, particularly RV camping, most campersbackpack is $30.00, a sleeping bag is $39.00, and a
prefer to camp relatively close to home.3- person tent on average is purchased for about
4) The Pacific Northwest (18.9%) and the Upper$101.00. Further, the big name retailers can
Midwest (16.9%) have the most campers whenout-advertise, stock larger quantities, display more
compared to the rest of the United States.products, and keep good customer relations due
5) Advances in technology and design hadto their highly developed business processes. A
produced significant improvements in survivalreport from Internet Retailer(tm) indicated that
gear, most notably advances in optics and nightthe more sophisticated websites, with fast order
optics.processing and page load times garnered more
Hunting & Bow-Hunting Trends-sales than slower and less sophisticated websites.
Keeping in mind that there has been a decrease inHence, Walmart, Amazon, Sears, Target, and
the numbers of hunters and a reported increaseKmart outperform the smaller specialty sites
the numbers of firearms purchased this year,when it comes to camping product sales.
particularly handguns, it is speculated that most ofEven the niche sites are cutting prices on survival
the handguns purchased are for self-defense.gear items in the face of frugal shoppers.
When considered in conjunction with reports thatFor example, Sierra Trading Post has cut the
ammunition manufacturers are working aroundprices on some of its products by 50%, Cabelas
the clock to keep up with sales orders, we havehas cut prices on some items by 20% to 70%,
concluded that people are stockpiling these goodsEastern Mountain Sports from 20-40%, and
for future use. "This has caused some concernMountain Gear has cut from 20-70%, Altrec by
among outdoor groups and hunting organizations,"15%, and Gander Mountain offers 40 % off on
the publisher remarked.some items. It should be noted that Gander
According to the NSGA, hunting and firearmsMountain is promoting over 3,000 firearms for
showed the greatest percentage increase amongsale on its website. These price cuts are
equipment purchases in 2007. Sales of huntingnecessary to entice customers to shop during the
& firearms equipment rose 16% to $4.62009 Holiday season.
billion from $3.9 billion in 2007.(Eco-Friendly Products Increase)
Bowhunting and the purchase of cross bows haveAnother trend noted in the report is that camping
seen a dramatic rise in the past three years. Oneand survival good manufacturers have started
of the reasons for this has been the Nationalmaking environmental friendly products by using
Archery in the Schools Program. Young and oldrecycled material or "green" material such as
alike seem drawn to this sport primarily due tovegan or organic resources such as bamboo. The
the unique skills involved, advances in bow designNorth Face, Timberland Boots, Patagonia, Merrell,
technology, the relative ease of getting aBurton, Keen, and Mountain Hardwear are some
bowhunting license, and the particular camaraderieof the leaders in eco-friendly camping products.
of hunting game in the forest.Primaloft® ECO, an earth-friendly mix of
Demographics-recycled and virgin insulation for coats and sleeping
The NSGA also found that women make up 12%bags are relatively new innovations in "green"
of all bowhunters in the United States. Nearlyproducts. A new Eco-Friendly DRYRIDE Recycled
786,000 females went bowhunting more thanPolyester Fabrication, and Eco-Friendly Waterproof
once in the past year. The average age of femaleBreathable Lamination with DWR Coating, are
bowhunters is 37.9. Indeed, current data seemsseveral new inventions included into Burton Coats
to indicate that women are quickly joining withand jackets. These eco-friendly products can be
men in core survival activities namely backpacking,purchased at Altrec.Com, Cabelas.Com, Eastern
camping, hunting, and wilderness trekking. MoreMountain Sports.Com, Mountain Gear.Com, and
and more women are buying survival gearThe Full Report-
products as they "take to the woods" in largeThe full report contains a discussion of
numbers. The growth of the B.O.W. (Becoming AnHome-Made & Do-It Survival Gear,
Outdoors Woman) program throughout the UnitedHome-Made Survival Kits, Recent Innovations in
States may be one of the factors contributing toSurvival Gear, Summary & Conclusions, and
the increase in the number of outdoors women.a list of references. Copies of the full report can
The average age for a female hunter was 30.4be obtained by contacting the publisher.
years and the average age for a male hunter