Searches on Amazon UK for sports and outdoor equipment are up significantly this summer compared to a year ago, suggesting Britons are embracing the heatwave and gearing up for a season of ‘staycation’ activities like camping, hiking, trips to the beach and fun in the back garden.
Research from global eCommerce analytics firm Profitero shows that searches for camping stoves and walking poles are up more than double on last July, while those for walking boots have more than tripled. Searches for air tents and beach bags are up 91 per cent and 87 per cent respectively, while pogo sticks are up 123 per cent.
Amazon search data can be an early predictor of future sales. When the number of Amazon searches for a product rises steeply, sales of the product typically follow.
Profitero managing director EMEA & APAC Mark Wilkinson said: “The prevailing thinking until recently was that consumers would have stocked up on summer outdoor items last year, but our findings suggest otherwise. Faced with international travel restrictions, rising Covid infections and a domestic heatwave, we’re seeing UK shoppers hungry for staycation products and equipment. We may be in the second summer of restrictions, but the data points towards a lot of new purchasing happening.”
But as demand for staycation products increases, shoppers are likely to face higher prices as supply struggles to keep up.
Profitero also tracked the prices on approximately 600 top-rated sports and outdoor-related products at three major UK retailers – Amazon, Argos and Sports Direct – and found, on average, that Amazon’s prices are 8 per cent cheaper than Sports Direct online, and 11 per cent cheaper than Argos.
Profitero’s Wilkinson again: “This price difference between retailers is quite sizeable and suggests to us that Amazon wants to compete aggressively and play to win in the sports and outdoors categories, particularly while shoppers are planning staycations.”
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