Consumption trend in 2024： ＂outward exploration＂ will continue to bring outdoor economic fever ｜ Zhimeng release
On January 11th, 2024, the 2024 Consumer Trend Conference and the 2024 China Consumer Trend Report Conference hosted by Zhimeng Consulting Agency were successfully held in Beijing.
At the meeting, Xiao Mingchao, a well-known trend and marketing expert and founder and CEO of Zhimeng Consulting Agency, officially released the 2024 China Consumption Trend Report, which revealed Zhimeng’s prediction of 10 major consumption trends in 2024, namely prudence and shrewdness, self-esteem, outward exploration, fireworks narration, minimal quality, convenience and enjoyment, essence and health preservation, value reconstruction, youth experience and sustainable brand.
To ask current consumers, especially young consumers, what they are most interested in, outdoor must be the most frequently mentioned answer.
In recent years, outdoor sports have risen and intensified. To what extent has outdoor sports developed today? Why do consumers love the outdoors? What opportunities are there in outdoor sports?
Outdoor has become a new way of life.
Before 2010, outdoor was still an "extreme challenge" and a game for a few fans; In 2010-2015, outdoor belongs to the elite circle, which is a project of a few rich and leisure consumers; From 2015 to 2020, the number of people interested in outdoor activities will increase, and outdoor activities will no longer only belong to a few people, showing a development trend from the small crowd to the public. After 2020, entering the first year of outdoor, the outdoor momentum is getting worse and worse, the outdoor lifestyle is on the rise, and the era of outdoor for all comes.
In today’s fast-paced, high-pressure society, finding an effective way to decompress has become the focus of people’s attention. A walking trip and a relaxing camping trip are not only to explore ourselves, but also to meet the needs of feeling the world. Being close to nature, traveling lightly, and relaxing make outdoor sports become consumers’ favorite way with its characteristics of natural healing, challenging themselves, expanding social interaction and slowing down the pace.
Consumers seek for themselves internally, and get close to nature externally. Through a short escape, they seek purity and stretch in Shan Ye, feel the healing of nature, and ignore the outdoors. Cycling, camping, hiking and mountain climbing have become new lifestyles for consumers. The Outdoor Sports Industry Development Plan (2022-2025) formulated by the General Administration of Sports and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism shows that the total scale of outdoor sports industry will exceed 3 trillion yuan in 2025.
In addition, the improvement of outdoor policies has also promoted the development of outdoor sports. For example, the General Office of the State Council has issued policy documents such as Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Fitness and Leisure Industry, Promoting National Fitness and Sports Consumption, and Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Sports Industry. The General Administration of Sports, together with the Development and Reform Commission and other departments, has issued plans for outdoor sports industries such as ice and snow, mountain outdoor, water, aviation, automobiles and motorcycles, bicycles, marathon and equestrian.
What changes have taken place in outdoor sports?
When outdoor becomes a new way of life and becomes more and more popular among consumers, the crowd, form, degree and equipment of outdoor sports have changed.
From the crowd, outdoor sports show a trend from small hobbies to public participation. Zhimeng’s survey of consumption trends in China in 2024 showed that 65.3% of consumers went out more frequently in 2023, and some consumers mentioned, "There are obviously more people outside this year. By the end of the week, everyone went out, liked to have a picnic, and bought a picnic car." "Returning to China this year, I feel that all my friends in China have participated in outdoor activities and they all love them. I feel that I have never participated in outdoor sports, which is a bit behind the times."
Judging from the situation, outdoor sports contain a variety of contents, and there are many ways of outdoor sports. There are many types of outdoor sports to choose from, either exciting or peaceful, or going up the mountain or into the sea, or warm or cold … Consumers can choose different outdoor sports according to their physical fitness and preferences. The survey of consumption trends in China in 2024 shows that hiking, cycling, hiking, mountaineering and camping are the most popular among consumers.
To some extent, the subdivision of outdoor sports and the popularization of outdoor people mean that different consumers can find outdoor sports that suit them. Beginners are light outdoor, relaxed and happy, and pay attention to the sense of participation and experience of outdoor sports. Camping around the city and short-distance hiking are their main outdoor sports methods; Professional outdoor is an advanced hobby. The outdoor sports they choose are longer, more difficult and more fully equipped. Mountaineering, rock climbing, cross-country running, etc., and even the locations of outdoor sports will expand from home to abroad. Extreme sports of heavy athletes require more participants, which is a choice for professionals to surpass themselves. They pay more attention to the sense of competition and accomplishment.
From the perspective of equipment, outdoor equipment has also ushered in a new spring under the trend of outdoor sports fever. Local outdoor brands have risen rapidly, among which camel, a domestic brand founded in 1930, has won the favor and trust of young consumers.
In 2023, a jacket printed with camel patterns became an outdoor standard for young people. In the little red book, camels occupy the first place in the search interaction of jackets; In the first half of 2023, camel’s sales in various e-commerce platforms were far ahead of a number of well-known outdoor brands; In the Double Eleven in 2023, the sales of camels ranked first in the Tmall outdoor brand list.
The camel’s lap is not only because of the jacket, but also because of these factors.
First of all, camel product design not only pays attention to functionality and comfort, but also takes into account fashion sense and personalization. The products are rich in colors and simple in style, which can not only meet the matching needs of different occasions and seasons, but also show the vitality and style of young people. In addition, camels also attract young people by establishing circle culture with the help of stars and IP.
Secondly, camels can meet the diverse needs of young people. Camel, as an outdoor brand covering all categories, can provide young people with all kinds of outdoor equipment and services so that they can enjoy outdoor life anytime and anywhere.
At the same time, it conveys the attitude and spirit of young people. Camel’s brand concept of "exploring nature and self" inspires young people to pursue their dreams and goals, face difficulties and challenges bravely, and discover their potential and value.
After grasping the consumption trend of "exploring outward", in 2023, Camel put forward the goal of building a "global outdoor brand", realizing the global layout and high-end positioning, and showing the strength and charm of China brand.
According to Zhimeng’s survey on consumption trends in China in 2024, sun-protective clothing, jackets and hiking shoes became the outdoor sports equipment purchased by most consumers, accounting for 50.9%, 48.7% and 39.3% respectively.
In addition, quick-drying sports suits, tents, sleeping bags, moisture-proof mats, riding cars, etc. are also outdoor sports equipment that consumers often buy.
Some consumers said, "Sports are not necessarily completely happy, such as hiking, but the process of preparing equipment is happy. I will carefully select equipment for every outdoor activity, and the ceremony is full."
Through these four changes, we can see consumers’ "love" for outdoor sports, but if we want to explore the reasons for outdoor popularity, we will find that the outward exploration is also to meet the inward demand. Outdoor can meet the needs of consumers in many aspects, such as health, spirit, challenge, socialization, healing, etc., so it seems that exploring through outdoor sports is actually inseparable from internal needs.
Outdoor wind blows into the city, and more scenes are integrated outdoors.
The preference for the outdoors is not limited to the outdoors. Nowadays, consumers have pushed the outdoor wind into the urban scene. Outdoor wind blowing in cities can be seen from two aspects: outdoor wind decoration and outdoor wind wear.
On the one hand, outdoor decoration is on the rise, and outdoor charm can also be felt through decoration in coffee shops and bars. The ground covered with pebbles, dotted with green plants, using camping chairs instead of conventional chairs, camping boxes to make tables, and setting up awnings and tents indoors … all these seem to be necessary for outdoor wind decoration. Coffee shops, bars, restaurants and even bookstores, more and more shops in the city take a fancy to the outdoor style and move the most outdoor representative from the wild into the room. People struggle in the city, but their hearts yearn for the distance. During the lunch break on weekdays and after work, such outdoor wind shops provide consumers with the best choice to relax.
(Source: Xiaohongshu)
On the other hand, outdoor sports are popular in cities, and the combination of sports and outdoor wear has become fashionable. Outdoor is also the focus of the fashion world. unbancore has become the new favorite of fashionistas. unbancore refers to the style of young people in the city who combine sports and outdoor wear. The spiritual core of unbancore is modern people’s desire for nature and freedom. People are in busy cities, while the mind and spirit feel nature in pleasant mountains and forests. You don’t have to go hiking to put on hiking shoes, just like walking in urban streets. You can wear a multi-functional vest without going camping, so that the attitude of not being afraid of difficulties during camping is manifested in every moment of life; Don’t go fishing, but wear a fisherman’s hat, and daily sun protection will add points for wearing.
For example, Banana opened the outdoor clothing market with a sun-protective clothing, and cut into lightweight outdoor.
In the summer of 2023, sun-protective clothing under Banana occupied the first place in many lists, showing a trend of one person for each. However, sun-protective clothing is not all under Banana. Taking advantage of the outdoor craze, Banana officially announced the brand upgrade at the beginning of this year, from a hard sunscreen vertical brand on the main line to a "lightweight outdoor" lifestyle brand, from a sunscreen sketch to an outdoor racetrack. Banana tried to find a breakthrough in a larger field and build its own wider moat.
On the premise of insight into industry and consumer consumption trends, Jiaoxia proposed four scene radii, namely, one kilometer living circle, urban outdoor, suburban outdoor and Shan Ye outdoor, and proposed four systematic product solutions around lightweight outdoor scenes. Jiaoxia wants to be the "brand of outdoor lifestyle for all", hoping to convey this concept to consumers: going outdoors doesn’t need any professional equipment, and it doesn’t need any psychological burden. Outdoor should belong to the public’s lifestyle.
Recently, more and more brands and enterprises have begun to try to link with the outdoor, so as to combine their own industries with the outdoor, such as:
Outdoor+education, many teams focusing on high-end private customization and parent-child research have started outdoor projects. White Camel Travel has launched a six-day tour of coastal cycling and three parent-child research courses, cycling+surfing, leisure+research mode;
Outdoor+pets, human beings satisfy their desire for nature and realize their social needs through outdoor, and pets also have these needs. When the shovel officers enjoy the outdoor, they don’t forget their hairy children. When the outdoor heat enters the pet sector, the consumption needs of the shovel officers are stimulated together, and the pet outdoor is creating a new track for the pet industry;
Outdoor+Healing, Zhimeng The survey of consumption trends in China in 2024 shows that when consumers are under pressure, the most common way to decompress is to go out and breathe nature, accounting for 64.6%. Nature can soothe the soul, and releasing pressure has become the consensus of consumers.
Therefore, the outdoor opportunity is in the scene, so that outdoor integration of more scenes can obtain a broader development world.
Outdoor sports are not hot at this moment, it is "flying into the homes of ordinary people" and becoming a national sport. I believe that outdoor sports will continue to develop and upgrade for a long time to come, and seize the trend of outward exploration, that is, seize the opportunity and seize the future.
