E-commerce sales continue to grow in the sports and leisure sector
Sports and leisure performed strongly in 2021, with growth of 19 percent.
Despite people returning to schools and workplaces, interest in outdoor activities and exercise has persisted. Many sporting activities resumed after being suspended during the pandemic, giving sales a boost. At the same time, disruptions in logistics and manufacturing have had a negative impact on sales. For example, the production of bicycles has been hard hit by the pandemic.
The Christmas shopping period was successful for the sector and was crowned by snowfall, which will certainly mean a good start to 2022. The continuation of the strong outdoor trend led to a lot of Christmas gifts being purchased in the segment. Also, the fact that many people have tried new activities during the pandemic meant that more people wanted products that would allow them to con- tinue with their newfound interest. The main example is padel, which has been extremely popular in 2020 and 2021. Footway Group is one of the market participants that has taken advantage of this trend, launching the Racketnow.com racket sports store in December. The niche online store was launched in 24 markets simultaneously and sells products for padel, tennis, badminton, squash and table tennis.
Source: The E-barometern annual report 2021
