Equipped - 01.30.2025

Author

Rafe Houston
January 29, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

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Welcome to Equipped, your go-to newsletter for updates and analysis on the marketing trends shaping the sports equipment industry.

Editor’s Pick 🌟

📊 REPORT

Fospha's latest research reveals the true halo effect of top marketing channels on Amazon revenue. It's a must-read for any brands selling on Amazon in 2025.

Sector Spotlight 🎥

ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT SURGE

The home fitness equipment market is poised for explosive growth, nearly doubling in size from 2024 to 2029, with a CAGR of 11.6%. This expansion is driven by a confluence of rising health consciousness, increased disposable incomes, and the proliferation of smart devices. These dynamics are setting the stage for a transformative shift in how consumers engage with fitness at home, emphasizing personalized workouts and preventative healthcare.

Industry leaders like Peloton Interactive and Rogue Fitness are at the forefront, leveraging AI and virtual reality advancements to reshape the consumer experience. The Asia-Pacific region spearheads this growth, with diversified products like treadmills and elliptical machines capturing significant market share. The strategic landscape is evolving, with collaborations and innovations offering eCommerce professionals rich insights into digital commerce strategies. As the market trends towards technology-driven fitness solutions, opportunities abound to refine digital marketing efforts, ensuring alignment with the burgeoning demand and shaping the future of athletic equipment sales.

ATHLETIC INNOVATIONS

The Graphene Composites Business Research Report forecasts a significant market growth to $317.3 million by 2030, driven by demand in automotive, aerospace, and electronics sectors. Enhanced fuel efficiency, thermal stability, and conductivity underline graphene's strategic relevance, promising high-performance innovations and a competitive edge in diverse industries.

ATHLETIC GEAR

HEAD's 75th anniversary presents a critical opportunity in athletic equipment eCommerce. With the launch of the KORE TI and ATTACK HYBRID bindings, along with the precision KALIBER ski boot featuring BOA-Fit technology, HEAD showcases innovation. This evolution offers strategic insights for digital marketing and consumer engagement in the competitive winter sports marketplace.

CURVED TREADMILLS

The Global Curved Treadmill Market report for 2025-2031 delves into key industry trends, growth dynamics, and segmentation by type and application, presenting strategic insights for eCommerce professionals. It offers a detailed analysis of competitive landscapes and future opportunities, fostering innovative digital marketing strategies in the athletic equipment industry.

ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT

Projected to soar from $506.2 million in 2023 to $721.3 million by 2034, the softball equipment market illuminates a path for digital commerce innovations. With rising youth participation and tech-infused gear, this growth signals immense opportunities in North America’s sporting goods digital strategies, urging agile adaptation in consumer engagement tactics.

Influencer Corner 📣

Sam Carter on LinkedIn: I've witnessed firsthand the struggle brands face in understanding ad spend impact, especially across channels like Amazon.

It comes down to 1 core issue.

It's simply not possible with user-level attribution for brands to track what's going on in Amazon.

This leads to challenges in understanding the halo effect of top-of-funnel ads (on e.g. Youtube, Meta, TikTok, Snapchat) on Amazon sales, and comparing the ROI of Amazon Ads to other platforms.

Barry Hott on LinkedIn: Stop overthinking your ads!

Too many marketers obsess over finding that “one magic element” that makes an ad work.

While compelling storytelling matters (it absolutely does), success often comes down to unexpected factors you can’t predict:

• A random detail in the frame
• The comment section taking off
• Something you only notice AFTER the ad goes viral

Jessie Healy on LinkedIn:

Is bad product page copy blocking your customers from buying?Spoiler alert - it probably is (I see it in 80% of pages I look at).

Steal my checklist to harness consumer psychology and persuade more customers to RUN to your checkout: 🏃‍♀️

Optimization Hub ⚙️

ADVERTISING INNOVATION

Amazon Ads launched Brand, an AI-optimized capability on Amazon DSP, to transform TV advertising by targeting audiences based on shopping signals. This innovation enhances brand awareness and conversion effectiveness, allowing advertisers to leverage advanced machine learning for strategic impact without sacrificing control or transparency, showing promising early results and industry potential.

ADVERTISING INNOVATION

Elevate Your Brand and Master Strategic Marketing in an Unstable Social Media Landscape

Marketers face challenges due to social media instability, with platforms like TikTok, Meta, and X under scrutiny. To ensure brand safety, marketers should leverage in-platform controls, embrace diverse cross-platform strategies, and employ techniques like Marketing Mix Modeling for data-driven decisions to navigate evolving digital landscapes effectively.

PERFORMANCE MEDIA

In the face of challenging macroeconomic conditions, 62% of marketers prioritize performance-driven media investments. Key performance indicators such as awareness, sales lift, and return on ad spend remain focal points. Most marketers handle retail media metrics in-house, underscoring the importance of reliable measurement tools for future success.

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