newswire: 9/5/2020
- Alongside gaming, baking, and biking, the pandemic has breathed new life into another pastime: fishing. The industry was already having some success in attracting new anglers before Covid-19 hit, but now outdoor recreation stores are scrambling to restock their angler inventory. (Advertising Age)
- NH: The copious amounts of free time and boredom brought on by the pandemic prompted millions of Americans to look for new hobbies. When warmer weather arrived, many turned to fishing.
- Data show that the number of anglers has jumped since the pandemic began. An RBFF poll found that applications for fishing licenses rose by 10.7% between January and April compared to last year. Walmart claims that over 10 million new anglers have started fishing since the pandemic. And in June, Bass Pro Shop saw a 10% YoY increase in HHPEN.
- What explains the rise? Stuck inside during lockdowns, people were itching to go outside once spring arrived. And with social distancing, there is a new premium on activities, like fishing, that are performed in the great outdoors and in solitude.
- The industry has also benefited from recent rises in female and minority participation. The number of women who fish has increased +3% annually between 2016-2019--that's +6% annually for teen girls age 13-17. And last year, a record 12% of Hispanics participated in the sport. The recent minority rise is driven both by targeted ad campaigns and more nonwhites living in rural America. (See "Rural and Small Towns Thriving.") When 2020 data on gender and ethnicity are released, these shares will probably show even larger rises.
- Before the pandemic, classic outdoor sports like fishing, hunting, boating, and golfing have been attracting ever-fewer younger Americans for many familiar generational reasons. (See "The Outdoors Isn't Looking So Great.") They require expensive equipment, lots of leisure time, years of experience, and proximity to wilderness. Boomers fell in love with them. Xers and Millennials, not so much. The main exceptions are "lite" versions of these pastimes. Younger generations prefer to hit balls for an hour at an urban Topgolf facility than play a full 18-hole golf course out in poshtown. Or practice for an afternoon in a local shooting gallery rather than take a week-long hunting trip to Montana.
- We see the same trend in fishing. These new anglers are deliberately trading down, not up. The vast majority are buying a $25 bubble-wrapped spin caster at Walmart, not the $200 fly rod at L.L. Bean.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Trouble at the Museum. One-third of the 35,000 museums across the United States are in danger of going under within the next 16 months. That’s according to a recent survey from the American Alliance of Museums, which also found that most museums (87%) only have a year or less of financial operating reserves remaining. More than half (56%) have less than six months of funds left. Fully 44% have furloughed or laid off staff, including some of the biggest names with massive endowments. Though many museums have rolled out popular virtual offerings, such as digital exhibitions and livestreamed events, these activities don’t come close to replacing in-person revenue. A few, including museums in Oregon, Virginia, and California, have already announced they will close. Others have begun reopening, but the capacity restrictions and limited activities mean they’re still facing shortfalls. In the coming months, museums’ best prospect for survival may be the schools and homeschooling parents who are flocking to the educational programming they’re putting out.
