industry:running Top products for nerdy runners
Headphones: Whether their material of choice is a pumping techno compilation or a Radio 2 podcast, good headphones are an essential for techy runners. The best products for runners should have clear, high quality audio, stay firmly in place and have a built-in play/pause/volume controller Popular: Pioneer, Sennheiser (Adidas), Monster
Running Bug, for example, which combines both an event listings website and an online community for runners, has more than a million monthly users. Sites like Runners World, Fetch Everyone and Ultra Running are key platforms used by runners to connect with other runners and share training tips, race announcements and, crucially, recommendations or criticisms of products. A presence on running social media sites and forums is essential for retailers. The internet can provide a fantastic first-hand insight into consumer preferences and trends – and participation is free.
Targeting the techies A recent report released by market research agency Mintel shows that, at present, wearable technology still has a fairly niche appeal, with adoption of wrist- worn devices at 9% of UK adults.
This is set to change, however, with
wearables uptake driven by health- and sports-related applications, and wrist-worn wearables experiencing strong growth in 2015. This is mainly thanks to smartwatches gaining traction in the market following major product launches from market leaders like Samsung and Apple. Mintel estimated that over 3 million wrist-worn wearable devices were sold in the UK in 2015, which is a considerable increase of 118% from 2014. Sara Ballaben, technology analyst at
Mintel, commented: “Appearance and design is the third most important purchase driver for wearables, ahead of more technological features such as measurement reliability, cross-device compatibility and touch screens. This suggests that ‘wearability’ and fit to personal style tend to prevail over the technological aspect in consumers’ minds, as people perceive these devices as personal accessories that they would like to customise rather than as purely technological gadgets.” Market research from Euromonitor links young women in particular as key consumers likely to take advantage of fitness apps and wearable tech. As sportswear companies develop their offerings and digital coaches become more popular and commonplace, the research agency claimed: “the future is wearables” in a report titled ‘Young Women’s Health: Global Attitudes Towards Health, Fitness and Wellbeing Among the Under 30s’.
Fact file
• The UK’s rate of participation in running is 20% among adults • Among children and youth aged 6-17, it rises to over 27%* • Marathon running increased by 13.25% worldwide from 2009 to 2014
• Women are picking it up faster than men with a growth of 26.90%, while men’s participation rate has increased by 7.8%** * Sports Marketing Surveys ** Run
Repeat.com
Smartwatches: As a society, we are increasingly obsessed with data. Today’s GPS-enabled smartwatches can track not only distance covered, but paces taken, calories burned, average speed and hills climbed, all of which runners can then record, compare and analyse in the effort to lower their PBs. Popular: Garmin, Apple Watch, FitBit
Heart rate monitors: Although GPS watches monitor heart rate in addition to their other functions, HRMs are perfect for runners on a smaller budget who want to refine their training and race paces. Popular: Garmin, Polar, Suunto
Apps: There really is an app for everything, from tracking nutrition to providing a virtual personal trainer service. Retailers can recommend apps that interact with wearable tech and nutritional products to help drive sales. Popular: Strava, RunKeeper, MapMyRun
The second most participated sport in the UK (behind swimming), there is currently a total of over 10 million participants in the UK running four times or more in a year. According to Sports Marketing Surveys, UK participants run, on average, 67 times per year. Running holds a unique position in the sporting world. Accessible to everyone, from seven-year-olds taking part in their first one-mile cross-country race to ultra-marathon veterans with thousands of accumulated miles under their belts, it is a straightforward and accommodating athletic activity that participants can pick up without any training – and as such, should continue to remain a profitable sector for retailers.
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