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Unit gross sales of tennis racquets in specialty tennis shops dropped by 7% within the first quarter of 2023, in comparison with the identical interval a yr in the past, stories Sports activities Advertising Surveys USA. Regardless of this, the market stays robust in comparison with the pre-pandemic interval.
The truth is, whole first-quarter progress in comparison with 2019 stands at 18%. January and February gross sales had been notably robust this yr in comparison with the pre-pandemic yr, necessary indicators for making a year-round marketplace for tennis items.
This has been achieved regardless of inflationary strain.
Simply over a 3rd of all unit gross sales at specialty shops had been for racquets between $200 to $249.99, with over 10% of racquets promoting for over $250 between January and March 2023, stories SMS.
This displays market dynamics at the moment of yr – when consumers are typically core tennis gamers together with these enjoying by means of the winter slightly than buying racquets as vacation items or for summer season participation. But it surely additionally reveals business success in elevating racquet costs in keeping with inflation with out pricing out customers. In 2019, earlier than the pandemic, solely 35% of racquets bought in Q1 had been bought at $200 or greater. 4 years later, that proportion has practically reached 50% of the market.
The brand new inflow of tennis gamers additionally seems to have stimulated competitors available in the market. Earlier than the pandemic, 90% of specialty retailer racquet gross sales had been of the three largest manufacturers available in the market however as of Q1 2023, that determine stands at below 80%.
Sports activities Advertising Surveys USA’s Adam Hile, mentioned: “Whereas there’ll understandably be some disappointment that tennis racquet gross sales have dipped in comparison with 2022, this isn’t sudden. The important thing indicator for the market was all the time going to be how most of the surging participant inhabitants stay engaged in tennis, and gross sales above and past the pandemic are a superb signal that that is holding up nicely. It’s additionally pure that lots of those that have come into the game haven’t but reached the purpose of changing their first racquet, so there was all the time more likely to be some drop off in general unit gross sales. Rising common costs in Q1 recommend that loads of those that are shopping for at the moment are buying in direction of the highest finish of the market, having maybe constructed up their expertise and play frequency over the past two years. There are such a lot of nice tennis racquets in the marketplace, and that’s mirrored within the urge for food for racquets manufactured by varied manufacturers.”
The figures come from the TIA Specialty Retailer Retail Audit, powered by Sports activities Advertising Surveys USA, which tracks gross sales of tennis items by means of specialty shops throughout America on a month-to-month foundation.
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