Outdoor Industry DTC Sales Boom Up As Much As 50% Over Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Outdoor brands saw huge wins in direct-to-consumer web sales this Cyber Season, with one of Verde’s internal reports showing as much as 50% revenue beats compared to last year from Black Friday to Cyber Monday across outdoor industry brands. This bucks the many months-long trends of slow sales and traffic. While uncertainty remains certain, this huge beat signals a wave of optimism. However, we’re cautious about signaling a rally or larger trend. We’ll be watching carefully over the coming weeks to see whether the momentum continues and consumers remain confident or if we return to the previous trend - this will be a key period to inform our outlook heading into 2023. 

What drove these beats?

There are likely myriad factors that played into these sales wins, there are a few macro-trends that we can look to including inventory positions, discounting, shipping delays, and media narratives. 

Compared to the past several years, inventory positions have done near a full reverse, from sparse digital shelves to deep size and product runs. Right now, brands have more selection, and also more pressure to move that inventory, leading to deeper discounts. Simply put, the sales this year were better for consumers in terms of both availability and pricing. Likewise, shipping delays and uncertainty have mostly resolved, especially for consumers, likely helping drive confidence that their purchase will arrive on time, key in the holiday shopping season. 

These stories of inventory and discounts have been well told in mainstream media, perhaps helping to overcome high-level economic concerns for consumers. This could also help explain the concentrated boost in sales and traffic during Cyber Weekend, even though we’ve seen holiday sales starting earlier and earlier. 

Analyzing web traffic and revenue trends

Positive year-over-year traffic and revenue comps have been elusive for DTC outdoor brands in recent months, however, November has changed this. Beginning around November 16th, we began to see comps swing into the green. Pulling the timeline back even further, the shift can be seen more dramatically. This is pictured below.  

All channels contributed to these wins, suggesting a rising tide in the market. Paid search was particularly strong, with greater inventory and deeper discounts likely helping to drive the increased traffic and conversion rates observed. 

Outdoor Industry Brands Web Traffic: Year-Over-Year

What now?

Economic concerns continue to be ever-present, however, this holiday shopping season has shown confidence in consumers. Meanwhile, data like the Outdoor Industry Association Participation Trends Report has shown us that new COVID-era outdoor participants are sticking around - meaning brands are continuing to serve a large consumer base. Taken together, this can help to show that consumers are not going away, even though traffic and revenue trends have been down. Traffic and revenue wins during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales show us that brands can continue to find success with the right mix of inventory and promotions. Building on specific successes from these sales while continuing to build mindshare with new and returning outdoor participants will help brands weather continued uncertainty - stay the course and focus on your consumers.