Consumer
Who is buying, why, and what comes next
Consumer behavior and market dynamics shaping the global sporting goods industry. SGI Europe tracks participation patterns, demographic shifts, cultural drivers, and regional demand, decoding how changing preferences translate into commercial opportunity for brands and retailers.
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Market Data | Consumer and Culture | Sports Participation
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The marathon’s new core runner is a woman in her 20s
Young women now lead London’s under-30 field and match men in Boston. Within a few years, they could lead whole fields.
Winter sports: the 2026 State of Play
Skier visits, participants and federation counts for the US, Europe, Japan, China and ice sports, with each method compared.
Comdaily AI study, part 2: when skiers ask AI
Part two of comdaily’s SGIE exclusive: in German-language AI answers, premium-technical brands lead ski and rainwear advice.
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How does AI understand your brand?
Visibility tools show where a brand appears in AI answers. Pitot Group’s new index reads what models understand before anyone asks.
Fandom on the Run: How K-pop Is Turning Fans into Runners
K-pop entertainment is muscling in on running events to cash in on fans.
To try or not to try – The state of marathon dreams
What coaching app Runna’s survey and race ballots reveal about people who dream of a marathon but never follow through.
What comdaily’s AI study means for sporting goods brands
SGIE exclusive: GEO specialist comdaily tested 504 German-language AI answers on running shoes, training apparel and wearables. Here are the findings.
FIP World Padel Report 2026: 40 million players
FIP counts 91,234 courts, up 17.9 percent in ten months, and €6.84 billion of yearly padel spending, worth €8.6 billion of GDP.
France returns the world’s leading ski destination
Visits rose 2.4 percent year on year, putting France ahead of Austria at 53.7 million and the US at 52.6 million.
LTA commits £1.6m to British university tennis and padel
Funding of £1.6 million (€1.9m) runs to 2029 and grows the partner network from 32 to 50 universities.
Explore the Section
The marathon’s new core runner is a woman in her 20s
Young women now lead London’s under-30 field and match men in Boston. Within a few years, they could lead whole fields.
Winter sports: the 2026 State of Play
Skier visits, participants and federation counts for the US, Europe, Japan, China and ice sports, with each method compared.
FIP World Padel Report 2026: 40 million players
FIP counts 91,234 courts, up 17.9 percent in ten months, and €6.84 billion of yearly padel spending, worth €8.6 billion of GDP.
LTA commits £1.6m to British university tennis and padel
Funding of £1.6 million (€1.9m) runs to 2029 and grows the partner network from 32 to 50 universities.
Women’s golf apparel in China: three growth drivers
For China’s women, what they buy when they buy golf apparel is not golf wear. It is old money, Ivy League style and belonging.
French women want more women’s sport, French study finds
Women’s sport already reaches 41 percent of French women, and 35 percent want more of it. A study by Alice Milliat Foundation and Kantar, covering France, argues that the offer, not the appetite, keeps that interest from becoming habit.
APAC football fandom is massive. Merch sales are not.
The fandom is real. The conversion model most European clubs use in APAC is not built for the region.
US women’s sports audience and ad spend are booming
US audiences watched 46 billion minutes of women’s sports in 2025, while brands poured in record ad dollars, per Nielsen.
How does AI understand your brand?
Visibility tools show where a brand appears in AI answers. Pitot Group’s new index reads what models understand before anyone asks.
What comdaily’s AI study means for sporting goods brands
SGIE exclusive: GEO specialist comdaily tested 504 German-language AI answers on running shoes, training apparel and wearables. Here are the findings.
US: sporting goods emerge as World Cup retail winner
Two months later, adidas, Fanatics and Foot Locker led a US sporting goods surge that outpaced every retail category.
Sports companies are discovering the pet market as a growth area
From a niche market to a multi-billion-dollar industry: How sports companies are already making good money in the $270 billion pet market.
Intelligence, analysis and advice for the global sporting goods industry.
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