End of 18 Month Climb for Apparel

The retail sales figures for US golf apparel are published by Golf Datatech this week where we see the first decline in sales for 18 months.

US July 2023 Retail Total Market (On-Off Course)

On-Off Course July ’23 vs ’22: Dollars -3.6%
On-Off Course July ’23 vs ’19: Dollars +65.6%

On-Off Course YTD ’23 vs ’22: Dollars +6.3%
On-Off Course YTD ’23 vs ’19: Dollars 56.9%

While US golf apparel continues to appear healthy, sales were off 3.6% for the month. However, it’s worth noting that sales remain up +6.6% year to date thru July.

What’s more, sales of golf apparel are up well over 50% vs. the last year pre-pandemic (2019).

“After 18 consecutive months of sales improvements, golf apparel sales had their first decline in July of 2023, falling by close to 4%” observes Golf Datatech co-founder, John Krzynowek, “While any slowdown is reason for concern and focus, it’s important to note that 2023 was the second highest July ever recorded, and sales remain 57% when compared to pre-pandemic levels.

“We’ve been expecting apparel sales to plateau for a few months now, but we made it through the bulk of the 2023 season before reaching a peak and starting to slow.  As we head into the Fall, golf retailers are well stocked, and we might see prices start to pull back as inventories are liquidated.” 

Visit here for the latest news on golf equipment sales for July 2023.