An Inconsistent 2017-18 Season Following a 3.7% increase in skier-and-snowboarder visits to US ski areas during the 2016-17 season, the industry experienced a decrease of 2.8% for the 2017- 18 season, to 53.3 million visits. The season started strong, with a 52% increase in visits during October and November 2017, and finished strong, with an 18% increase during March, however, the middle period of the season was quite bad, offsetting these gains. The decrease in total visits occurred despite new records at ski areas in Montana, Washington, Wyoming and Idaho; a season with 5 additional days; and some resorts remaining open until mid-April because of significant late-winter snow.
Resort Consolidation Continues Numerous investments and acquisitions are in the snow sports news, including Vail Resorts, one of the industry’s largest companies, announcing during August 2018 a $64-million acquisition of Stevens Pass Resort in Washington. During September 2018, Peak Resorts Inc. announced it is adding Liberty Mountain Resort, Whitetail Resort and Roundtop Mountain Resort near Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC to its portfolio of 14 other properties. Other properties investing millions to improve their facilities include Hunter Mountain, NY; Winter Park Resort, CO; and Lee Canyon, NV.
“See You on the Slopes!” According to a Snowsports Industries Association (SIA) December 2017 survey, 47.13% of respondents said they participated in snow sports the same during 2016- 17 as 2015-16; 18.01%, somewhat or much more; and 34.84%, somewhat or much less. A much larger percentage said they anticipated participating more during 2017-18 (36.07%, somewhat more, and 9.43%, much more); 44.67%, the same as 2016-17; and 9.84%, somewhat or much less. The Physical Activity Council’s 2018 Participation Report showed an increase in winter sports participation among Generation Zers, from 12.3% during 2016 to 13.3% during 2017, which is critical for the future success of snow sports.
Kids Love the Fun SnowKidz is the first phase of the International Ski Federation’s Bring Children to the Snow campaign for children ages 4–14, which included 762 events in 31 countries and the participation of more than 681,000 children during the 2017-18 season. The top 5 most common activities/support, which are free for participants, during the 2017-18 season were free ski/snowboard lessons, 29%; free ski passes, 21%; free entry tickets, 14%; free food & drink, 12%; and free gifts & prizes, 8%. Of those who participated in SnowKidz 2017-2018, 81% said gathering with friends and family interested them the most; followed by activities on snow, 69%; free or discounted offers, 41%; and music shows, 6%.
Must Have the Right Gear According to November 2017 survey data from SIA, 58% of respondents (alpine skiers, specifically) said they were spending for themselves and 42% were spending on others. Of those surveyed, 33% said they were making holiday season purchases for snow sports merchandise, with approximately 58% spending $501–$2,000 each. The $101–$500 category was #2, at 21%, and $2001– $5,000 was #3, at 16%. Then, February 2018 SIA data revealed 63.67% of those surveyed said they agreed or strongly agreed they had strong preferences for specific brands of snow sports gear, with goggles #1; followed by helmets, boots, jackets and skis.
Many Skiers and Snowboarders Prefer to Rent Gear May 2018 survey results from SIA found 66.7% of respondents said they rent snow sports gear at a resort and 74.1% said they obtain equipment service off-resort. Unsurprisingly, 87.2% of survey respondents said they rent alpine skis and bindings for themselves, followed by alpine poles, 33.3%; alpine boots, 20.6%; snowboard and bindings, 5.1%; snowboard helmet, 5.1%; and snowboard boots, 2.6%. Alpine skis and bindings were also first, 73.3% when renting for their kids/dependents; followed by alpine boots, 51.1%; alpine poles, 49%; snowboard boots, 24.4%; snowboard and bindings, 20%; and snowboard helmet, 11%.
Advertising Strategies Since snow has a direct effect on skier-and- snowboarder visits, resorts and ski areas may want to offer a discounted lift ticket for a warmer, less-snowy part of the season when a regular lift ticket is purchase during the snowiest portion of the season. It’s clear the future of the industry depends on generating enthusiasm among youth and young adults. Recommend local resorts and retailers to consider becoming part of the SnowKidz program and/or creating similar local programs. Show retailers the data on page 3 of the Profiler. Suggest a promotion to increase spending of the lesser- purchased merchandise during the 2017 holiday season for the 2018 season, which could be a discounted price for those items when making a qualifying purchase.
New Media Strategies Retailers can benefit from the value of video content for social media with short videos that store associates host to introduce new products, explain how to clean gear correctly and even exercise programs for skiers, such as stretching routines before skiing. A podcast is certainly a digital media opportunity for retailers and resorts/ski areas, with interviews with gear reps and resort managers in other parts of the world, the best new music for skiing/snowboarding, on-slope reports from loyal customers/visitors, etc. Retailers and resorts/ski areas should also use the data on page 4 of the Profiler to align their Facebook pages and posts to snow sports enthusiasts’ top Facebook categories and their Facebook activity.