sportstyle

Have you ever played pickleball? 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% NO I do not plan to. NO But I'm planning to. YES 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Public courts Private courts Tennis club/ Private Resort Home court Local High School Do you play socially, or with local leagues or in an independent pickleball tournament? Where do you mostly play? 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Socially Local Pickleball League Independent Pickleball Touranaments How many times per month do you typically play pickleball? 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 16+ 11-15 s 5-10 1-4 PICKLEBALL PLAYERS TELL US THE SCORE CARPE TRENDEM is survey conducted by MESH01 included 492 respondents, men and women, ages 18-70, who are active. Trend Insight is a feature within sportstyle that delivers research conducted on the MESH01 Platform. MESH01 collects data from a select panel of active and outdoor enthusiasts. In our latest consumer survey, pickleball was the topic of the day. We surveyed 492 active men and women, ages 18-70, with 296 telling us they play pickleball. We then zeroed in on those 296 pickleball players and asked them specic questions about how they play and shop for the sport. Nearly 60% of pickleball players told us they play at least once a month, with 26% playing 5-10 times per month. ey mainly play on public courts, and they overwhelmingly (99%) play socially rather than in ocial league. e top destination for consumers to shop for pickleball paddles and balls, according to our survey, is sporting goods stores (65%), with nearly half (47%) of consumers telling us they plan to pay between $50-$100 for a paddle. On the footwear side, while a growing number of brands are making pickleball-specic footwear, only 10% of consumers told us they are wearing pickleball-specic shoes on the court, and 78% told us they would appreciate a salesperson recommending a pickleball footwear brand to them. ere is still plenty of opportunity for continued growth in this category it would appear! e top destination for buying shoes to play pickleball, according to our survey, are sporting goods stores (53%) and run specialty stores (22%). What inuences consumers to purchase a specic brand of pickleball equipment, apparel or footwear? In our survey, respondents told us the top determining factor was a friend or family member's recommendation of a product, followed by a product review in an online article or a discounted price. For further proof that pickleball players can't get enough of the game, when asked if it should be an Olympic sport, 75% said YES! ■ TREND INSIGHT sportstylemag.com • sportstyle July/August 2024 • 47

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