The activewear category is booming – growing more than four times faster than the overall apparel industry – as both men and women trade in their jeans for yoga attire and athleisure wear.
The latest evolution in fitness fashion and a push from consumers for a more active lifestyle has been the catalyst for sports apparel retailers and traditional fashion retailers alike to make their own aggressive expansion moves in the activewear category.
So where is the most growth taking place?
To answer this question and to determine the most active U.S. metro areas – at least in the way consumers dress – we measured the average household expenditure on activewear.*
Below are the results.
The top 5 metro areas for consumer household spending on activewear in 2013 are:
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV - Average Household Activewear Spend: $88.66 per year
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA - Average Household Activewear Spend: $84.02 per year
- Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY - Average Household Activewear Spend: $82.00 per year
- Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT - Average Household Activewear Spend: $81.47 per year
- Trenton-Ewing, NJ - Average Household Activewear Spend: $80.84 per year
What’s even more interesting is that these 5 areas are also projected to have the highest average household expenditure on activewear for 2018.
*Metro areas are based on core based statistical areas (CBSA), which is a U.S. geographic area based around an urban center of at least 10,000 people.
Evaluating Market Entry
As apparel retailers are lured in to the activewear market, evaluating their potential in this segment, as well as viable markets and trade areas for new store concepts, is absolutely critical.
To ensure success, smart retailers are taking a data-driven approach – and using customer analytics to provide the intelligence needed to help guide their decision-making process by answering questions such as:
- What are my potential markets and trade areas?
- Who are my activewear customers?
- Who will be my competition and how long have they been there?
While answering these fundamental questions can be daunting at first, they are essential because those who can shape their businesses early and in the right way will enter the segment with a competitive edge.
To learn how customer analytics and Buxton’s solutions can help you answer those foundational questions and eliminate the guesswork of entering a new apparel segment, download our latest report “The Pocket Guide to the Apparel Industry” or reach out to us. We can help.
