The Resurgence of the Backyard

During the quarantine when activities were canceled and families stayed home, the backyard became one of the most popular spots. It isn’t a surprise then that sales of backyard play items experienced tremendous growth in the spring and summer of 2020, and all indications appear that families will continue to invest in backyard play in 2021.

“Growth in the outdoor and sports toys super category was driven by a number of categories that experienced strong dollar gains during April,” noted Washington D.C.-based research group NPD in April of this year. “(That growth) included Playground Equipment (+81%), Skate/Skateboards/Scooters (+107%), Ride-Ons (+78%), Water/Sand Toys & Accessories (+47%), Pools (+161%), and Sports Activities & Games (+25%).”

Maria Bailey, CEO of Florida-based BSM Media, a marketing-to-moms agency that specializes in connecting brands with mom consumers, said the quarantine offered a time for discovery and learning.

“Many families took up new hobbies and tried to learn new skills. Many of them

by Tami Murphy, Grand Prix International

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happened in the backyard,” Bailey said. “We have heard from moms that they want to continue to do things in their backyards. They told us in a recent survey that they intend to continue grilling dinners, having outdoor picnics in the warmer weather and using the spaces they have created during the quarantine.”

Bailey also said that moms discovered that their yard can be an extension to the house, and now that they have discovered it, they intend to continue using it. Many also noted that their backyard is now so much nicer that they feel at home in the yard.

Cindy Simmons is a nationally recognized mom influencer who features several social media platforms. She’s the mother to two girls, ages 8 and 15.

“We are already an outdoor kind of family but for sure, and we were out in our backyard much more often,” she said of the quarantine. “We added more balls and backyard games into the mix. We even found a blow-up sprinkler unicorn that our girls and neighbors fell in love with for relief from the heat!”

She said the time being forced to stay home during the pandemic opened her family’s eyes as to “how we need to improve our outdoor space to serve us better.”

A recent survey of 570 moms by BSM Media showed that 73% of the moms said the habit of being outside more is one they intend to keep post-pandemic. Backyard celebrations are being planned by 59.8% of moms, and 37.8% of them have intentions to stock up on more outdoor toys. Another important statistic included in the survey said that 63.4% of those moms want to continue curbside pick-ups from those retailers.

Susan Pazera, a New York mom and family travel expert, said she too used her backyard during the quarantine.

“My kids are in their teens and we found ourselves playing in the yard like we used to when they were younger,” she said. “Kickball, volleyball, frisbee - it was great to interact with them this way again and get a little piece of their childhood back.”

Retailers may also want to keep stock of outdoor toys-to-go as well as traditional travel toys and games. In the BSM survey, 63.8% of the moms intend to go on vacation with road trips (65%), enjoying local long weekends (44.9%), and visiting national parks (25.5%).

“We have always been a family that enjoyed the backyard but realized we didn’t always spend much time there together,” Pazera said. “It was always the kids and their friends more so than us together as a family. The yard became an escape for us even though we were all stuck at home.” ASTRA