Golf Datatech and Yano Research Institute have teamed up to release the World Golf Report 2021, the industry’s only global golf retail study. The 2021 report, the fifth edition, provides an in-depth global retail market summary based on geography, size and economic significance of the nearly $14 billion golf equipment and apparel market.
“While the objective of the worldwide report has always been to look at long-term trends in the sales of golf equipment and apparel, the impact of the coronavirus in 2020 obviously becomes a key focus of this year’s analysis” Golf Datatech partner John Krzynowek said. “And despite the worldwide pandemic, golf participation and sales are higher, with 2020 global sales of equipment and apparel up 3 percent, at $13.93 billion. Consumer demand for golf equipment was higher in the majority of countries around the globe. However, our data also shows a broad decline in apparel sales this year.”
Specific to the global pandemic, severe government restrictions on socializing, travel, and life in general caused some of the major golf markets to decline by 15 to 50 percent on a YTD basis thru May, with sales in some countries falling by more than 80 percent in a single month.
“It was a long, hard, painful first half of 2020, but the game — and the business of golf — quickly gained momentum during the late spring and early summer months,” Krzynowek said. “Golf courses were soon full and rounds played soared, including an influx of newcomers to the game, while many others who used to play decided to come back again. As a result, sales of golf equipment exploded, and even those countries that were severely impacted by the early 2020 shutdown enjoyed record months during the summer and continue to trend positively.”
Among the top-level findings of the 2021 World Golf Report:
- The top five golf markets in the world, in order, are the United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada and the United Kingdom.
- The United States and Japan are responsible for about two-thirds of the world’s golf equipment market.
- Korean golfers spend more per capita on their golf equipment and apparel than any other country.
- Sweden was the fastest growing country, up more than 50 percent.
“The alliance between Golf Datatech and Yano Research Institute continues to yield new data that speaks not only to the state of the worldwide equipment and apparel markets, but also details the impact of the global pandemic, while providing trends and insights to help companies better react to changes across golf marketplaces and adjust their business strategies,” Golf Datatech partner Tom Stine said. “As with our previous editions, the 2021 World Golf Report continues to analyze all countries that have a significant golf footprint, providing a wealth of data, highlighted by key insights into the golf markets, unit sales estimates by country and product line, as well as countries with the most significant business growth and declines throughout the year.”
“This report, especially as golf has endured tremendous challenges with the global pandemic, is an essential business resource, providing our customers with expert insights designed to help them better run their businesses,” Yano Research Institute president Takashi Mizukoshi said.
