sportstyle

56 • May 2021 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com Do you plan on participating in an organized race in the upcoming year? O n your mark, get set, go! We surveyed more than 350 consumers who identify themselves as active runners, and not only did we learn that the majority intend to run as much or more this year as they did last year, but they also have strong ideas about what running- related products they intend to purchase, and why. One stat that jumped o the page: 97 percent of survey respondents told us that socks are at least somewhat or very important to their running experience, and 74 percent said that insoles are somewhat or very important, too. And when it comes to run safety gear, 79 percent of respondents said that they would appreciate a sales associate recommending a safety product to them. As far as in-store shopping habits, it's interesting to note that 47 percent said they prefer to buy their running shoes and apparel in a store, while 46 percent said they prefer to buy online and have it shipped to them. n The survey, conducted by MESH01, included 350 respondents, men and women, ages 18 to 60 who identify themselves as active runners. Ready to Keep On Running TRENDINSIGHT We surveyed 350 consumers. Here is what they told us. S E I Z E T H E T R E N D ! CARPE TRENDEM Trend Insight Consumer is a feature within Footwear Insight that delivers research conducted on the MESH01 Platform. MESH01 collects data from a select panel of sports enthusiasts. For information on the Mesh1 Platform, contact Brian Bednarek at 603-766-0957 or brian.bednarek@mesh01.com. For more information on Trend Insight Consumer and how your company can participate, contact Jeff Nott at 516-305-4711 or jnott@formula4media.com. How many times per month do you typically run? DEMOGRAPHICS PRODUCT GROUP RUNS & RACES How many years have you been running? Where do you mostly run? 16X+ 5-6 Park (no motor vehicle traffic) 7+ Treadmill Trail Street 1-4X < 1 Indoor Track 5-10X 1-2 Other 11-15X 3-4 Outdoor Track 46% 14% 8% 9% 64% 21% 53% 8% 3% 1% 15% 8% 3% 30% 11% 5% What time of day do you normally run? Late Afternoon Evening Early Morning Late Morning Early Afternoon 22% 16% 42% 9% 10% Will you plan to continue running at the same level once Covid restrictions are eased? Yes No* 94% 6% Do you plan on participating in local group runs? 59% 69% YES YES NO NO 41% 31% *Editor's Note: of those who answered "No," 50% commented that they would be increasing their time running. 3% n 2020 n 2021 n 2020 n 2021 How important is your choice of SOCKS to your running experience? How important is your choice of INSOLES to your running experience? Very Important Not important at all Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Not Important at all Very Important 1% 29% 26% 25% 32% 35% 31% 72% 67% 43% 36% Takeaway: 97% of consumers consider socks somewhat or very important. Takeaway: 74% of consumers consider insoles somewhat or very important.

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