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Sports Participation - UK - July 2005
Lifestyles: UK, Library Horizons, Leisure Horizons Price: £1495 / $2990 / €2240
Contents
Introduction and Abbreviations
Summary of Key Report Findings
Market Factors
Sport Background
Sports Goods Market Size/Segmentation
The Consumer – Sports Participation
Frequency of Participation
Where Sport is Played
How Much is Spent on Sport
Attitudes Towards Healthy Eating and Exercise
Sport Participants’ Purchasing Habits
The Future
Forecast
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About this report
About the market…

Despite competition from other leisure time activities, sport participation continues to be one of the UK’s most popular pastimes. Sport alone has made major contributions to the country’s economy with the sector employing just under 2% of the work force and being worth two times more in terms of GDP than the entire British agriculture sector.

Over the last 10 years there has been a significant shift in the British consumers’ attitude towards healthy living. Staying fit and maintaining a healthy diet has quickly moved up the list of priorities for many and this appears to have contributed greatly to the trend of increased sport participation.

About Mintel’s research…

Pooling together the most innovative consumer research and latest analysis of trends in sport, Mintel's new report offers you all the insight and inspiration you need for designing clever, creative and profitable marketing strategies. Use Mintel's research to:

  • Anticipate major trends to better position your product
  • Pinpoint where the biggest profits are to be found in sports
  • Learn how you can use the 2012 Olympics in London as a promotional tool
  • Identify the latest opportunities for growth before the competition
  • Learn the most effective way to reach your target market
  • Discover consumer attitudes toward sports and reasons for participating in them.
Intriguing findings include…

Exclusive consumer research conducted for this report shows that 63% of adults take part in sport on a regular basis.

The desire to loose weight, in order to improve bodily appearance, has been a growing motivational factor for many consumers participating in sport. This group has grown from 15% to 18% between 2000 to 2005.

Fitness holds most appeal for women and 25 to 44 year-olds.

If you want more details about this particular report, please contact the Mintel information team on  +1 312-932-0400 in the U.S.,  +44 028-90-241-849 in Northern Ireland,  +353 048-90-241-849 in the Republic of Ireland or  +44 (0)20-7606-6000 in the UK and the rest of the world, or email info@mintel.com.
Key words and phrases within this report

Fitness sports; Competition sports; Equipment; Weight Watchers; Clothing; Marks & Spencer; Safeway; Tesco; Internet; Footwear; Armchair Sportees; Competitive Streakers; Unsporting; Morrisons; Obesity; Asda; Sainsbury's; Yorkshire/North East; BSkyB; EMAP; Keep Fitter; Keep Fitters; PDI; Occasional participation; Healthy; BMI; BBC; Regular participation; Wales/West/South West; Attitudes towards sport; Health of the nation; East/Midlands; JD Sports; JJB; Lucozade; Red Bull; Most popular attitudes towards sport; Population trends; IPC Media Ltd; North West; Panickers; Theory; JJB Sports; Lucozade Sport; Morrison; Active Places; Available leisure time; England; Games; Government policies; Labour; Sport England; ABC; Haymarket; Olympic Games; Sky; Badminton; Retired; Mind; Allsports; Lucozade Energy; Reasons for playing sport; Sporting preferences; Targeting opportunities; Attitudes towards healthy lifestyles; Next most popular attitudes towards sport; GDP; Britain; BISL; Business In Sport; DCMS; Department of Health; Forecast adult population trends, by socio-economic group, 2000-10; Leisure; MHF; Olympic; World Athletics Championship; DTT; European Championships; Eurosport; Freeview; Future Publishing Ltd; Guardian; ITV; PPV; Premiership; Sports; Web; Nike; Wealthy Achievers; Fit; Argos; Bhs; Blacks; Burton; Continental; Cotswold Outdoor; Field & Trek; Footlocker; Gilesports
Contents

Introduction and Abbreviations

Definition

Consumer research

ACORN

Abbreviations

Summary of Key Report Findings

Participation rates reach new high…

…as keenest competitors regain lost enthusiasm

More consumers want sport on the cheap…

…but biggest spenders spend bigger and bigger

Cutting venues to cut costs

A nation increasingly health aware…

…although a soft core of ‘Slobs’ remain

A sound body more important than a healthy mind?

More consumers making time for exercise

Fitness sports hold most appeal for women and 25-44-year-olds…

…while competition sports participants are younger and male

Competition sports participants are biggest equipment buyers

Serious participants escape national chains

Sports goods market to top £5 billion in 2005

Swimming loses buoyancy at regular levels of participation

Home participation pumps up keep fit sector

Joggers the ideal target – but proving difficult to hit

Hikers are older and more affluent, but are disinclined to buy

Athletes keep on running

Football and snooker: the people’s games

Golf is UK’s most expensive – and competitive – sport

Market Factors

Economic climate

Figure 1: Trends in personal disposable income and consumer expenditure, 2000-10

Number of people in work

Figure 2: UK labour force trends, 2000-10

Population trends

Figure 3: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, by gender, 2000-10

The socio-economic structure of the population

Figure 4: Forecast adult population trends, by socio-economic group, 2000-10

Population by lifestage

Figure 5: Forecast adult population trends, by socio-economic group, 2000-10

Health of the nation

Obesity
Figure 6: Incidence of being overweight or obese among men and women, by age group, 1999 and 2003
Weight and slimming
Figure 7: Consumer attitudes towards their weight, 2004
Figure 8: Adults who are trying to slim, 1980-2004
Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption
Attitudes towards health and exercise
Figure 9: Attitudes towards health and exercise, 1998-2004

Government policies

Health policies
Exercise referral schemes
Licensing Act 2003
2012 Olympic bid

Available leisure time

Figure 10: Daily leisure time, 2004

Local authority and private club provision

Figure 11: Trends in the total number of private health and fitness clubs* in the UK, 2000-05
Figure 12: Annual membership fees levied by health and fitness clubs by club location, February 2005
Figure 13: Trends in the number of members at health and fitness clubs in the past 12 months, by club location, February 2005

Sport Background

Interest in sports
Figure 14: Interest in named sports/pastimes among UK adults, 2001-04

Sports participation levels

Figure 15: Regular participation in sports, 2001-04

Sports paid to watch

Figure 16: Paid to watch sporting events, 2001-04

Sports media

Sports media consumption habits
Figure 17: Sports media consumption, October 2004
Cable/satellite television penetration
Figure 18: UK penetration rates for satellite, cable and digital TV, 1998-2004
Growth of television sports programming
Figure 19: UK sports television output, 2001-04
Figure 20: UK sports television output, by channel, 2001-04
Figure 21: Most televised UK sports, 2001-04
Internet usage
Figure 22: UK Internet penetration, 2001-05

Newspaper and magazine circulations

Figure 23: National newspaper circulations, 2004-05
Figure 24: Leading sports magazine circulations, 2002 and 2004

Sports Goods Market Size/Segmentation

Market size – overview

Figure 25: Consumer spending on sports goods, 2000-05

Market segmentation

Figure 26: Consumer spending on sports goods, by product category, 2000-04

Equipment

Figure 27: Consumer spending on sports equipment, 2000-05

Clothing

Figure 28: Consumer spending on sports clothing, 2000-05

Footwear

Figure 29: Consumer spending on sports footwear, 2000-05

The Consumer – Sports Participation

Regular participation
Figure 30: Regular sports participants, 2000-05

Occasional participation

Figure 31: Occasional sports participants, 2000-05

Profile of sport participants by individual sport

Fitness sports
Figure 32: Demographic profile of participants in fitness sports, by gender, age and socio-economic status, February/March 2005
Figure 33: Demographic profile of participants in fitness sports, by region and ACORN categories, February/March 2005
Figure 34: Demographic profile of participants in fitness sports, by marital and working status, February/March 2005
Figure 35: Demographic profile of participants in fitness sports, by detailed lifestage groups, February/March 2005
Figure 36: Demographic profile of participants in fitness sports, by media, supermarket usage and commercial television viewing, February/March 2005
Competition sports
Figure 37: Demographic profile of participants in competition sports, by gender, age and socio-economic status, February/March 2005
Figure 38: Demographic profile of participants in competition sports, by region and ACORN categories, February/March 2005
Figure 39: Demographic profile of participants in competition sports, by marital and working status, February/March 2005
Figure 40: Demographic profile of participants in competition sports, by detailed lifestage groups, February/March 2005
Figure 41: Demographic profile of participants in competition sports, by media, supermarket usage and commercial TV viewing, February/March 2005

Frequency of Participation

Figure 42: Frequency of sport participation among regular participants, 1998-2005

Frequency of participation by type of sport

Fitness sports
Figure 43: Frequency of participation in fitness sports among regular participants, February/March 2005
Competition sports
Figure 44: Frequency of participation in competition sports among regular participants, February/March 2005

Where Sport is Played

Figure 45: Sport participation, by location, 1998-2005

Regular/occasional participants by sport by where sport played

Fitness sports
Figure 46: Participation in fitness sports, by location, February/March 2005
Competition sports
Figure 47: Participation in competition sports, by location, February/March 2005

How Much is Spent on Sport

Figure 48: Annual expenditure on sports membership and entry fees, 1998-2005

Regular/occasional participants by sport by amount spent on sport

Fitness sports
Figure 49: Annual expenditure on sports membership and entry fees among fitness sport participants, February/March 2005
Competition sports
Figure 50: Annual expenditure on sports membership and entry fees among competition sport participants, February/March 2005

Demographic analysis of average expenditure patterns

Figure 51: Average expenditure on membership and entry fees, by gender, age and socio-economic status, February/March 2005
Figure 52: Average expenditure on membership and entry fees, by region and ACORN categories, February/March 2005
Figure 53: Average expenditure on membership and entry fees, by marital and working status, February/March 2005
Figure 54: Average expenditure on membership and entry fees, by detailed lifestage groups, February/March 2005
Figure 55: Average expenditure on membership and entry fees, by media, supermarket usage and commercial television viewing, February/March 2005

Attitudes Towards Healthy Eating and Exercise

Figure 56: Agreement with statements about healthy eating and exercise, 1995-2005

Regular/occasional participants by sport by attitudes towards healthy eating and exercise

Fitness sports
Figure 57: Agreement with statements about healthy eating and exercise among fitness sport participants, February/March 2005
Competition sports
Figure 58: Agreement with statements about healthy eating and exercise among competition sport participants, February/March 2005

Sport Participants’ Purchasing Habits

Regular/occasional participants by sport by where bought sports goods

Fitness sports
Figure 59: Patterns of expenditure on sports clothing, footwear and equipment, by retail outlet, among fitness sports participants, February/March 2005
Competition sports
Figure 60: Patterns of expenditure on sports clothing, footwear and equipment, by retail outlet, among competition sports participants, February/March 2005

Regular/occasional participants by sport by how much spent on sports goods

Fitness sports
Figure 61: Annual expenditure on sports clothing, footwear and equipment among fitness sports participants, February/March 2005
Competition sports
Figure 62: Annual expenditure on sports clothing, footwear and equipment among competition sports participants, February/March 2005

Regular/occasional participants by sport by why clothes bought

Fitness sports
Figure 63: Motives for purchasing sports clothing and footwear among fitness sports participants, February/March 2005
Competition sports
Figure 64: Motives for purchasing sports clothing and footwear among fitness sports participants, February/March 2005

Regular/occasional participants by sport by attitudes towards sports clothing, equipment and footwear

Fitness sports
Figure 65: Attitudes towards sport and the purchase of sports equipment among fitness sports participants, February/March 2005
Competition sports
Figure 66: Attitudes towards sport and the purchase of sports equipment among competition sports participants, February/March 2005

Regular/occasional participants by sport by bottled water bought

Fitness sports
Figure 67: Bottled water purchased by fitness sports participants, by type, February/March 2005
Competition sports
Figure 68: Bottled water purchased by competition sports participants, by type, February/March 2005

Regular/occasional participants by sport by energy drinks bought

Fitness sports
Figure 69: Sports and energy drinks purchased by fitness sports participants, by type, February/March 2005
Competition sports
Figure 70: Sports and energy drinks purchased by competition sports participants, by type, February/March 2005

The Future

Economic conditions in place for further growth

Demographic trends to remain largely positive

Fitness sports are best equipped to adapt to the needs of an ageing population

Participation heads for polarisation

More participants bigger than ever

More joined up government thinking likely to have positive effect

Changing patterns of participation to stimulate equipment sector

Increasing leisure time raises prospects for sport

Changing motivations: long-term shift or fleeting fashion?

Forecast

Scenario 1
Figure 91: Forecast of sports participation target groups, Scenario 1, 2005-10
Scenario 2
Figure 92: Forecast of sports participation target groups, Scenario 2, 2005-10
Scenario 3
Figure 93: Forecast of sports participation target groups, Scenario 3, 2005-10