Department store: "Light outdoor" 100 billion new ecology, rolled up in the spring days!

With the warm weather, "light outdoor" has quickly become a buzzword。

Until 2010, "outdoors" was a niche activity, popular mainly with backpackers and hikers。With the passing of time, the outdoor community culture has taken shape, the outdoor sports market has gradually accumulated strength, and activities such as mountaineering, diving, and rock climbing have gradually risen。Therefore, outdoor activities gradually come out of the circle, and the threshold is gradually lowered。In particular, since 2023, outdoor activities have moved toward life and nationalization, and have become a new life, among which, "light outdoor" has received special attention。Compared with the traditional "outdoor", "light outdoor" pays more attention to lightweight, portability, fashion and versatility in product design, allowing users to switch at will in outdoor and time scenarios。

Compared with "outdoor", "light outdoor" has a larger development space and can cover a wider range of people and daily life scenes。According to iResearch Consulting's "Lightweight Outdoor Industry White Paper" on the lightweight market size, lightweight outdoor consumption accounts for 77 percent of the overall consumption of outdoor sports goods.5%, and the future consumption capital investment in lightweight outdoor products will increase by 14%.1%。

For such a market trend, how can the brand seize the trend and better meet the market demand？Where are the bigger opportunities？Department storeThis paper gives an explanation。

Why is "light outdoor" more sought after？

The department store pointed out that the reason why "light outdoor" is more sought after by modern people is not just because a word is added under the premise of "outdoor"。It actually represents a new life idea and method。

Compared to traditional outdoor sports equipment，Light outdoor sports equipment pays more attention to lightweight technology，Makes it easier to carry，One category can be applied to multiple scenarios，It not only saves space，It also improves the efficiency of use;At the same time，They are also more in line with trends，Let people enjoy outdoor activities at the same time，It can also show your personal fashion sense。

It is worth noting that when it comes to sports products before, many users will automatically think of the label "expensive"。The concept of "light" is undoubtedly more "popular", expanding more entry-level and more everyday styles in the outdoor category matrix。

For example, comfortable all-in-one yoga wear is an iconic "light outdoors" category。Put on a yoga dress to go out, not only simple atmosphere, but also in the commute, leisure and entertainment, sports and other scenes freely change。In addition to yoga wear, the "Light Outdoors" must-have items include fisherman's hats, functional clothing, cargo pants, as well as folding sunglasses, Doc Martens, vests, backpacks, and even a range of products that can be used in daily life, such as portable fans, accompanying cups, folding stools, waterproof phone bags, and more。And hardcore players can also choose from more new technology products, such as bone conduction headphones, hand-made coffee sets, electrolyte powder, compressed canned food, lightweight outdoor chairs and so on。

With people's attention to healthy living and ecological environment, the demand for light outdoor market will further expand。At the same time, with the development of production technology, the quality and performance of light outdoor sports equipment will also be further improved, providing guarantee for the steady growth of the market。

"Unstoppable" Lululemon, will also hit a bottleneck？

When it comes to light outdoor brands, we have to say Lululemon。

The brand that was once dedicated to yoga wear has now become a leader in the light outdoor space。Its success lies not only in the design and quality of the product itself, but also in the brand positioning, marketing strategy and interaction strategy with consumers。

In the face of the trend of light outdoor, Lululemon has soberly grasped the psychological needs of consumers。After noticing the increasing pursuit of healthy living and fashion sense，Lululemon cleverly positioned its brand as "Super Girls" who look forward to a positive life and realize the value of life.，Through yoga clothing design dedicated to women's health, movement and comfort，Create a product image with high quality and fashion sense。The target audience described by founder Chip Wilson as "young, educated, employed, probably not yet married or married, energetic and health-conscious" also fits well with the self-expectations of contemporary young people, and has gained a strong fan base for the brand。

Based on this premise, Lululemon adopts diversified marketing strategies to continuously strengthen interaction and communication with consumers, thus improving brand awareness and user loyalty。Especially in the domestic market, Lululemon's social media marketing methods are very active, and it has built a distinctive community through platforms such as XiaoHongshu, attracting the attention and participation of a large number of young groups。In addition, the brand also interacts with consumers through offline promotion activities, live broadcast of fitness network celebrities and other ways to enhance the emotional connection between the brand and consumers, so that consumers are more willing to choose and trust the brand。

Despite this success, Lululemon still faces a number of challenges, the most critical of which is competition from "affordable alternative" brands。As little Red Book blogger @Tunton said: "First of all, we must admit that lulu is very comfortable in it!But let's be honest, if you want an equally or moderately comfortable sportswear, there are plenty of affordable alternatives。Second, lulu is great, but only if you actually have a body。So I've bought some, but I don't really recommend it, unless you like the filters it's marketed to, or you're in good shape, or you have a big budget。”

In addition, with the continuous evolution of fashion aesthetic concepts, customers are increasingly demanding the design of light outdoor clothing。For the pursuit of fashion consumers, Lululemon's style naturally "will not make mistakes", but the new shape design seems to lack some novel design elements design creativity。This also leads to the inevitable user "abandonment pit" of the brand, they either choose "affordable alternative", or choose a more design sense of the brand。

Combined with the current background, the department store pointed out three development opportunities:

Opportunity Point 1:Roll product development。With the progress of science and technology, the materials and design of light outdoor equipment will be constantly updated, and the brand can continue to innovate in the subcategories, improve the performance and price of products, and meet the increasing needs of consumers。

Opportunity Point 2:Roll type design。Nowadays, there are more and more brands entering the light outdoor。If the brand wants to play diversified characteristics, it may wish to refer to the idea of Moxun MOUTION: to comprehensively understand the daily living habits and aesthetic preferences of local customers, so as to ensure that the products meet the public at the same time, provide more distinctive models, and quickly upgrade the brand memory。

Opportunity Point 3:Volume social marketing。With the change of consumer shopping habits, light outdoor brands should also be more flexible in the use of online and offline channels, combined with social networks, offline stores and other scenarios, to establish a sound marketing ecological chain, enhance brand exposure and visibility, to achieve steady growth。

Let's start with product development。Unlike European and American customers who seek "tanning", Chinese consumers pay more attention to sun protection for the skin, but for a long time, few brands can provide a complete product line。With deep insight into the market, according to different sun protection needs, Jiao-Xiha has launched a number of SKUs such as sun protection shirts, capsule umbrellas, shell hats, ice sleeves, etc., to achieve full coverage of subdivisions。In this way, the product series design not only meets the diversified needs of consumers, but also establishes the professionalism and trust of the brand in user cognition, thus driving customers to form continuous buyback behavior。Among them, banana shell sunscreen hat soon reached monthly sales of 100,000 +, laying hundreds of millions of GMV。

In the selection of communication scenes, Jiaoxia has also carried out accurate positioning。Compared with traditional wooden scenes, Jiaxia chose lightweight outdoor scenes as the media, covering Frisbee, camping, hiking and other light outdoor lifestyles。By "seizing all the sun of the lifestyle of the middle class", Jiao-xia successfully deeply related the products to the daily life scenes of consumers, giving the enterprise a more distinctive characteristic of life。This precise scene selection quickly upgrades the brand's exposure and attractiveness, and also creates a closer to life, real and touchable consumer experience for customers。

Then there's the plate design。He also made his fortune in the sunscreen category，Moxun MOUTION in product design，Understanding of local customer preferences and aesthetic trends，Various aspects were added to the product such as shoulder inserts, multiple shoulder designs and small holes in the hat，And to introduce more in line with the Asian female body，Improved product adaptability and market adaptability。In Tiktok and Tmall, the price of a single brand sunscreen shirt is about 200-500 yuan, completing the combination of cost-effective and technological aesthetics。At present, the market share of Moxun MOUTION's sunscreen shirt has exceeded 26%, and it has ranked first in sales in the Douyin channel, surpassing Jiaoxia and Jiaoxi。

At the opening show of Shanghai Fashion Week，Moxun MOUTION has released a joint collection with Roksanda Ilin Cic, a designer beloved by European aristocrats and celebrities，Continued the designer's super first-class color design aesthetics，From traditional short sunscreen clothes, traditional long sunscreen clothes to long sunscreen coats，All reflect a variety of unique cut and profile design schemes，It attracts more consumers who pursue fashion and taste，Bring more differentiated competitiveness to the brand market competition。

In addition, some domestic brands that mainly promote "light sports" are also rising strongly。For example, the company's sports and life brand Angaoruo, in the product strategy of looking forward to "with a set of good-looking and easy to use sportswear, you can freely shuttle between work, life and sports", breaking through the boundaries of traditional sports brands and fashion brands, and building a unique industry position for the brand。

In the brand promotion, Angaoruo repeatedly emphasizes a slogan: "Sport is play"。为此，Angora actively embraces the local sports community，Organize outdoor sports, changeable Spaces and sports markets in major cities，Promote the establishment of aesthetic consensus in everyone's communication;Online through the small red book, Tiktok, podcasts and other ways，All kinds of talent are invited to spread the lifestyle content，And continue to operate in the community，Explore interesting things with a wide range of users。This also allows the brand to reach a wider audience, expand brand exposure and visibility, and lay a solid foundation for the long-term development of the brand。

As the department store adheres to the concept, in the highly competitive market environment, the light outdoor brand to occupy the market, not only depends on the quality of the product and design scheme, but also should establish a long-term sense of trust between consumers。This relationship is not only a whim generated during the purchase process, but also based on the consumer's identification and resonance with the brand's culture, values and emotional expression。Therefore, brands need to continuously strengthen this connection through product development, emotional marketing and social interaction, and promote the growth of brands and consumers together。