Market Analysis

The Covid-19 pandemic catalysed significant shifts in consumer behaviour (appendix B), influencing the shape of the outdoor industry. Responsible for the resurgence of the female empowerment movement (Chiu, 2020; Weldon et al., 2020), and mass drive for holistic wellbeing (Wroble, 2021; Dunn, 2020), society has reached a “turning point” for women’s involvement in sport (Nike, 2019; Macguire, 2022). Driving the post-pandemic sporting boom (Strava, 2020; McKinsey, 2021a), female participation in sport has grown exponentially in recent years, seeing women’s sportswear boast the “single largest growth area” in the sporting category (Macguire, 2022). In response, innovations targeting the female consumer are gradually emerging, though are limited to the footwear and athletic undergarment categories. Alongside this, global communities observed a shift towards greater eco-consciousness (McKinsey, 2021b; Cohen, 2020), increasingly favouring ‘sustainable’ alternatives over the market standard (Hawkins and Houghton, 2021; Deloitte, 2021).

On a micro level, outdoor lifestyles have grown in popularity as consumers seek to reap the widely proclaimed benefits of time in nature (WGSN Global, 2021a; NaturalEngland, 2020). Consequently, participation in outdoors sports is surging, with market projected to value $17.15 billion by 2025 (Allied Market Research, 2021). The outdoors industry has long been considered a historically male-driven domain (Kestenbaum, 2019), characterised by white-washed imagery of radical sporting pursuits, functional apparel and highly competitive brand narratives (see appendix C) (O’Connell, 2016). However, as the demographic of consumers exercising for leisure, well-being and escapism continues to grow, existing strategies risk alienating the emerging consumer base. This is exacerbated by the understanding that the modern outdoor consumer is primarily female, and inherently diverse in terms of body type and ethnicity (OIA, 2021b).

Despite the market opportunity, there remains a lack of outdoor brands specialising in women’s apparel or safety (appendix C), particularly within UK and European markets (Rathbone, 2022). At present, female-first brands predominantly occupy the indoor-sports market, and, comparable to the outdoor brand narrative, commit to fitnessfocused or goal-oriented messaging displaying a narrow image of the female athlete(Macguire, 2022).

The activity tracking app market segment is also predicted to sustain consistent growth in coming years, driven by a female audience (IbisWorld, 2021). Used for guidance, support, and engagement (McKinsey, 2021a; Wroble, 2021), the tone-of-voice used in existing applications is rooted in rivalry, opening up the opportunity for a more ‘easygoing’ application targeting the leisure consumer.

IMAGE 67%

of outdoor consumers utilise the outdoors for leisure, wellbeing, and escapism.

(OIA, 2015)

Direct Competitor Communication Positioning See appendix D for broader analysis

Inclusive narrative

Competitive Narrative Supportive Narrative

Exclusive narrative Performance-focussed narrative

Technical language Non-technical language

Wellbeing-focussed narrative