McKinsey & Company reported that lower economic forecasts, persistent inflation, and cautious consumer spending tested the global sporting goods business last year.
Despite these challenges, the industry grew 7% year from 2021 to 2024.
McKinsey anticipated 6% growth for 2024–2029 due to a slowdown in Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, and Latin America.
Its latest research, ‘Sporting Goods 2025—The new balancing act: Turning uncertainty into opportunity’, shows sporting goods firms’ dual focus on top and bottom lines.
A recent World Federation of the Sporting Goods sector (WFSGI) survey found 44% of sector executives are enthusiastic about 2025, indicating their cautious confidence in grasping possibilities despite widespread obstacles.
The sports sector will prioritise income and productivity. McKinsey stated in a release quoting the findings that corporations must reduce inflation’s long-term effects as consumers reconsider discretionary spending.
Another issue facing the industry: 84% of sporting goods executives worry about geopolitics.
Tariff rises this year could impact pricing and supply chain management.
Consumer spending may also be affected, especially in discretionary categories like sports. The research advises companies to accelerate supply chain derisking and diversification.
ESG and sustainability remain priorities for athletic goods companies, but external forces and business concerns are driving leaders to make difficult trade-offs, resulting in a lower priority than last year.
In 2025, half of sporting goods executives said their company prioritises sustainability, down from two-thirds the year before.
Inactive individuals increased from 26% in 2010 to 31% in 2022, despite the health advantages of exercise. This tendency may continue since the WHO predicts 35% inactivity by 2030.
Physical idleness threatens the sports products industry’s existence. The physical activity market will decline if younger generations’ levels rise or stay the same.
The biggest sporting goods market opportunity is transforming physically inactive segments.
1.8 billion people worldwide are not reaching WHO’s physical activity guidelines, an untapped market twice the size of India’s adult population.
