Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, and book stores
Total Sector Spending
Overall spending trends across an industry sector
What's the story behind the data?
Spending in the Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores sector has shown persistent volatility over the past year, with Facteus data capturing a meaningful recovery in April 2025 after a long period of contraction. Overall, the category remains under pressure, reflecting both discretionary pullback and seasonal variability. Traditional drivers of strength like back-to-school and holiday seasons were muted, consistent with retailer earnings reports and third-party retail forecasts for 2024-2025.
Facteus data shows a strong correlation with public signals: Dick’s Sporting Goods reported challenged comp sales in late 2024, while niche players like Hobby Lobby and Barnes & Noble are increasingly reliant on promotional events to drive traffic. Notably, our card-based data illustrates sharper intrayear swings than foot traffic-based proxies, suggesting consumers are transacting more selectively when they do engage.
The sharpest recent uptick occurred in April 2025, likely driven by spring sporting goods demand and seasonal outdoor categories. This surge was not broadly sustained, with May and June returning to flat-to-negative year-over-year growth.
Demographically, this sector skews toward Gen X and higher-income households in terms of growth, even while overall volume tilts toward Millennials. These nuances are not well captured in traditional retail reporting, giving Facteus a clearer view into true spending behavior across cohorts.
Implications by Audience
FP&A / Strategy Teams
- Volatility underscores the importance of weekly or monthly benchmarking. Relying solely on quarterly retailer comps masks inflections.
- Gen X is the only generational cohort showing sustained growth—support strategic focus on formats or inventory tied to this group (e.g., high-end gear, musical instruments).
- Income bracket analysis shows softness across all ranges, with modest stability in $100K-$125K. Plan promotions and inventory to optimize for this resilient mid-upper segment.
Marketing and Brand Teams
- REI and Dick’s maintain dominant AOV positions, indicating pricing power and loyalty among high-intent shoppers. Use this as a benchmark to assess brand equity.
- Campaigns targeting Gen X and upper-income shoppers could outperform broader campaigns, especially in categories like outdoor gear and fitness equipment.
- Leverage market share trends to identify seasonal whitespace: Hobby Lobby and REI showed gains around holidays while others stayed flat.
Investors
- While sector-level comps may seem muted, specific brands (e.g., Dick’s, REI) are outperforming materially in both market share and AOV, suggesting portfolio opportunities.
- Intrayear recovery in April 2025 highlights the power of seasonal tailwinds—watch for repeatable signals (e.g., pre-summer, back-to-school).
- Risk remains high for brands overly reliant on lower-income consumers, given persistent softness in those brackets.
Top Brands by Market Share
Leading brands ranked by market share within sector
Trends + Insights
- Total Sector Spending:
- Spending has been negative or flat in 9 of the past 11 months.
- A sharp rebound in April 2025 (+9% YoY) aligns with traditional spring cycles.
- The quick reversion to flat in May and June highlights fragile momentum and potential discounting post-season.
- Sector Spending by Income:
- Spending is down across every income bracket except for a small uptick in the <$50K range.
- $50K-$75K shows the largest YoY drop (-4%), indicating middle-class budget tightening.
- $100K-$125K segment held flat, consistent with other discretionary resilience patterns.
- Sector Spending by Generation:
- Gen X drives the only meaningful growth (+5% YoY).
- Millennials dipped slightly; Gen Z and Boomers are flat to modestly positive.
- This generational bifurcation reinforces the case for targeted merchandise and messaging.
- Top Brands by Market Share:
- Dick’s Sporting Goods maintains dominance with a 30%+ share, showing further gains into June.
- REI and Hobby Lobby jockey for second tier, with Hobby Lobby spiking briefly during holidays.
- Nike and Barnes & Noble continue to decline slightly, possibly tied to reduced discretionary baskets.
- Top Brands by AOV:
- REI leads the pack with consistent AOV above $120, reinforcing its premium positioning.
- Nike and Dick’s are next, both showing AOV north of $90 for most of the period.
- Lower-end players like Academy Sports and Barnes & Noble continue to lag below $70.
Top Brands by AOV
Leading brands ranked by average order value within sector
This macro sector analysis provides detailed insights into economic trends and consumer behavior patterns. The visualizations below are derived from real-world transaction data and economic indicators.
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Sector Spending by Income Bracket
Industry sector spending patterns by household income level
Sector Spending by Generation
Industry sector spending patterns by generational cohort
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