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• 30 Shops In 30 Days

TransWorld Business Presents: ‘30 Shops In 30 Days’

TransWorld Business presents “30 Shops In 30 Days” - our way of keeping a close eye on what’s happening at the retail level across the country. Throughout the month of April, we will feature one shop each day. To participate in “30 Shops,” contact us at business@transworld.net. Check back here for the first shop on April 1st, and stay tuned to TransWorld Business all month to follow our shop tour.

ADMIN

• March 30 2009 | 330 views

• News

The Sports Authority To Open Nine Stores On Saturday

TSA will hold grand opening ceremonies for nine new locations across the country on Apr. 4, bringing its total to 463 stores in 45 states.

ADMIN

• March 30 2009 | 257 views

• Features

Friday Free For All: MMA - An Action Sport?

As the world of Mixed Martial Arts continues to expand and gain an even larger audience, the crossover between MMA and Action Sports has been a frequent topic of debate. Where do you stand on this topic?

ADMIN

• March 27 2009 | 779 views | 16 comments

• Features

US Open Sponsors Tap Into Younger Crowd

Not much of a recession going on at the 27th annual US Open held March 16-22 at Stratton Mountain, Vermont, where the top male and female winners took home $100,000 each for capturing the Burton Global Open Series (with US Open as the final stop) which is the largest single payout in the sport. Check out the photos.

ADMIN

• March 26 2009 | 1,023 views | 1 comment

• News

EuroSIMA Study Shows Trend Toward Online Purchasing Habits

European boardsport consumers are purchasing a large amount of their gear online, according to a September 2008 study on consumer trends conducted by the EuroSIMA Cluster, a network of private and public boardsport companies in South West France.

Here is a complete outline of what the study reported:

Boardsports consumers purchasing habits

The EuroSIMA Cluster has conducted last August-September 2008 (in collaboration with the ARCANE Institut agency) a consumer research study on consumption trends of boarsports gear (surf/skate/snowboard), based on a representative sample of 4200 persons of 15 to 35 years-old across seven countries in Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom).

This unique European internet study provides the freshest insight about the boarsports consumers’ profile, their hobbies, their sports participation, their buying habits, their purchasing motivations…

After a first wave of information released last February, the EuroSIMA Cluster reveals today new figures on the consumption habits of the 15-35 years-old.

Purchasing channels for boardsports products
Signs clearly show that boardsports gear consumers are becoming cyber-consumers.

•    Even if most of boardsports articles are bought in general sports stores (34.4%), or in specialized shops (26.6%), online purchase is becoming widespread (26%).
•    Internet is the first channel used in the UK (38.3%) and in Germany (35.1%) in order to purchase boardsports articles, but is not really used buy Portuguese shoppers (11.3%) who widely prefer general sport stores (46.9%).
•    Females buy boardsports articles in general sports stores (36.5%) slightly more than males (32.5%).
•    On the other side, males use the internet slightly more than females for buying boardsports articles (26.5% vs. 23.3%).
•    Those practicing boardsports buy sports articles in general sports stores (29.4%), on the Internet (28%), or in specialized shops (27.7%).
•    Internet is by far the first channel used in the UK (40.9%) and in Germany (36.3%), and is widely used across other countries except in Portugal (14%) whose shoppers prefer general or specialized sports stores.

Types of websites used for boardsports products online shopping
Online shopping sites such as private-public sales, EBay…, are one of the fastest growing sectors on the internet today.

•    Online shopping sites (45.7%) are websites the most commonly used for purchasing boardsports articles by those using the Internet for their purchases.
Then, the most common online sources are specialized boardsports sites (24.4%), surf brands sites (14.8%), and mail order sites (14.8%).
•    Specialized boardsports sites tend to be slightly more popular with males (25.7%) than female (22.8%) and with those aged 15-25 (26.6%) than the older group (22.3%).
•    Online shopping sites (43.5%) are websites the most commonly used for purchasing boardsports articles by boardsports participants using the Internet for their purchase.

Key factors when shopping for boardsports products

•    For the majority across countries, the brand (65.1%) is declared more important than the price (7.3%).
The brand is relatively more important than the price for females and for those aged 26-35.
It is also the case for those practicing boardsports.
•    Shops and brands fame are important for all countries.
In Germany, Portugal and Switzerland the shop reputation is more important whereas it is the other way round in France, Spain and the UK.
For boardsports participants, shops and brands fame have the similar importance.
•    In all countries (except Portugal), consumers are inclined to switch brands rather than buying the same.
The study reveals that males are slightly more inclined to switch brands than females.
It is also the case for boardsports participants.
•    When shopping for boardsports products, impulse motivates customers much more than need.
This tendency is even more evident with boarsports participants.

About EuroSIMA Cluster
Founded in January 2008, EuroSIMA Cluster created a network of private and public actors who wish to contribute to the promotion and development of the boardsports in the Aquitaine Region (South West France).
EuroSIMA Cluster major projects are: the creation of a website dedicated to economic surveillance for the boardsports market (www.board-europe.com), the initiation of collective actions for shapers and surfboards manufacturers, the development of projects of innovation and research and development, sustainable development, education and human resources.

List of EuroSIMA Cluster studies
(available in limited access on www.board-europe.com)
- European consumer study of boardsports gear buyers – Arcane Institut (August-September 2008)
- Boardsports market size estimate inside the global sport market – NPD Group (2008)
- Polybags Life Cycle Analysis – Bio Intelligence Service (October 2008)
- European surfboards market survey – InovEco (September 2008)
- Infusion for surfboards manufacturing (available in French only) – Clean Shapers Association
- Ecological surf blanks (available in French only) – Clean Shapers Association
- Pre-impregnated for surfboards manufacturing (available in French only) – Clean Shapers Association
- European surf/skate/snowboard retail surveys - EuroSIMA Cluster
- European surf and snowboard media coverage analysis – EuroSIMA Cluster

ADMIN

• March 24 2009 | 366 views | 4 comments