Outdoor Gear Sees Uptick in Sales after Covid-19 Crisis

Sports retailer Decathlon launched a Super Brand Day campaign together with Alibaba’s Tmall e-commerce platform on April 24, 2020—through which it sold protective sports gear, skateboards and roller blades, outdoor apparel and tents on the platform. The concept of Super Brand Day, which was introduced in 2015 by Tmall, is a marketing campaign that showcases select brands to Chinese consumers. Each participating brand has a 24-hour period in which to provide consumers with special offers and unique shopping experiences.

Decathlon store on Tmall

Source: Tmall

Decathlon saw sales of its outdoor products rise considerably on its Super Brand Day, and the company sold around 10,000 trampolines in just 10 minutes before running out of stock. Part of Decathlon’s success came from its marketing strategy and the upgrading of its delivery services. The brand designed a mobile game for the day, which consumers could play while they were shopping. The retailer also offered an in-store pickup service across 150 offline stores, as well as launching a two-hour home delivery service for addresses in close proximity to its stores.

As lockdowns begin to ease in Western countries, brands and retailers could look to capitalize on a likely increase in demand for outdoor categories. Furthermore, there could be opportunities to stimulate demand for such products over the summer months as consumers search for alternative means of outdoor entertainment rather than traveling post Covid-19. Companies can partner with e-commerce platforms to launch campaigns that drive brand awareness, and they should implement strategies to engage with consumers through upgraded services and experiences, such as mobile gaming and fast delivery services.