How healthy is the local market? Will the location support a new business within the outdoor industry sector?
After you research the consumer market for the outdoor industry (or more likely the consumers/participants of the activities within the industry) you will want to adapt that data down to the local level in which you plan to operate. Your local market could be a city, zip code, state, or region.
The resources below can help you find information about your local market to combine with national consumer market trends.
Tools for Local Market Information
- Use SimplyAnalytics to know how many people in your market area buy a product, belong to a certain demographic, and more.
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As an example, you could use SimplyAnalytics to find data by zip code on the percentage of people in Columbus, Ohio, who are very interested in hiking, mountain biking, camping, etc.
- SimplyAnalytics
SimplyAnalytics provides demographic, business, or marketing data down to the local level, allowing users to create customized maps and reports with an almost unlimited number of variables. See my Tips & Tricks Guide for help with this database.
This video shows you how to use SimplyAnalytics to understand your local market area. The example uses golf, mountain biking, and running.
- Use Mergent Intellect to identify and locate potential competitors in your industry.
- Is there room in the market for your new business?
- How are the other companies doing? (look at estimated sales)
- Mergent Intellect
Use to find companies and competitors by user-defined search criteria, such as size, location, industry, sales, and more. Useful for private company information which includes estimated sales.
- Use Bizminer to better understand the health of your industry in the local region.
The video below shows one way to use Bizminer to better understand your local market competitors, demand, industry trends, and more.
- You will want to use census data to compare how your local market demographics align with the more general national demographics of a consumer market (like what you find in Simmons, Mintel, and Passport)
- Census data will have broad demographics such as age, gender, income range, education, etc. They don't measure things such as "mountain biking."
- Census QuickFacts
Provides easy access to some of the most-used economic and social statistics.
The QuickFacts are an easier way to get to census information than American Factfinder.
