Leisure spending may hold up better than expected among active Brits. This is the conclusion of a new report by Sporting Insights (formerly Sports Marketing Surveys Inc.), available for immediate purchase.
The study confirms suspicions that general spending will, and indeed already is, beginning to be constrained. However, data suggests almost half of people are not, or at least not yet, considering changing expenditure concerning leisure activities.
This resilience, which is even more marked in some specific cycling categories than others, would be excellent news for both the cycling and wider sports industry and chimes with findings from throughout the pandemic that showed people according greater importance to active habits and products.
In fact, the research highlights how, in certain cases, spending on leisure items may actually help ease financial pressures. Overall, the trend in car usage was for drivers to shift towards driving less compared to 2021, this despite a general shift back towards offices or hybrid working. Meanwhile, around 40% of people cycled more in 2022 than in 2021.
Together, the responses indicate a rise in active transport use among one of the more active sectors of society.
The report, available for £250 + VAT, is designed to highlight how people’s day-to-day transport choices have shifted in 2022, how purchase habits are evolving at the dawn of the cost of living crisis – including on key sectors like sporting holidays – and how cycling is perceived more generally.
The data is based on a robust sample of almost 4,000 respondents with an interest in outdoor sports including cycling and running. Responses from active people across the UK were sought, with 64% of respondents taking part in over 150 minutes of exercise each week and 34% taking part in 30-150 minutes.