RETAIL DATA
How the weather is impacting golf retail in 2024
Phil Barnard, Xpos founder and Golf Datatech partner, reports on the first five months of 2024
“This year, for the first time in a while, we’ve seen a downturn in club sales. But as always, it’s worth looking at the whole picture. I would maintain that golf retailers should not be concerned”
FINALLY, summer is here but only after a late start and exponential amounts of rain, which affected the start of the UK golf season. The weather has been a hot topic so far and really played a part in the Q1 numbers. From January to May, the UK would normally see an average of 64 rainy days - where there is enough rain to prevent people from wanting to go to the course.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this year, we’ve seen an increase to 75 non-playing days due to rain – 20 per cent more than normal. Bizarrely, during that time, sales in the Outerwear category dropped, which tells us that it really was too wet for the average person to play golf.
With the weather apps that many of us now use, we can see if it’s going to rain all day, and most people are happy to stay at home. Unfortunately, when fewer people are playing golf, sales are naturally down for on-course pro shops.
This year, for the first time in a while, we’ve seen a downturn in club sales. After the pandemic, the category enjoyed a boom and, as a result, we became accustomed to seeing big numbers in the data. Indeed, at the end of 2023, the Clubs category was up 27 per cent on 2019, whereas, at the end of May this year, sales were down 3.3 per cent on 2023 and 3.7 per cent on 2022.
Club sales in 2024
*Up to the end of May
-3.3%
Compared to 2023
-3.7%
Compared to 2022
+27%
Compared to 2019
As always, it’s worth looking at the whole picture. In the US, the replacement cycle for a set of irons is seven years, and four years for a driver. During Covid, when there was an unprecedented uptake in the sport, there was a large increase in club sales. Golfers had more disposable income, as well as time on their hands, which shortened the replacement cycles and saw people buying clubs sooner than they normally would. This must influence purchasing behaviour down the line, and, now, we are witnessing a normalisation of buying patterns.
I would maintain that golf retailers should not be concerned. Wedges have grown every year since 2021 and are up in sales again in 2024 – it is the only club category to do this.
In addition, putters are experiencing a return, having underperformed against other categories over recent years. The putter category has also seen solid growth in Average Selling Price (ASP), which is up 6.8 per cent to date.
75
Rainy days in the first five months of 2024 in the UK
It never rains but it pours
64
Rainy days on average from January to May in the UK
It’s also worth noting that putters and wedges have a longer selling season than other clubs, so there is still plenty of time for retailers to promote sales this year. Where sales of woods peak in April and irons in May, putters enjoy a reassuringly steady sales period from April through to August and, similarly, from April to July for wedges.
One of the key challenges for putters is managing inventory, and stock turn is often poor in this category – currently at 1.5 for UK on-course shops. Better solutions need to be found for identifying putters that consumers want to buy. A good custom-fitting experience would be a great way to showcase putter benefits and identify the best product for the golfer.
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