Athleisure market insights

By: Tushar Subramaniam, Senior Analytics and Media Manager, and Ashton Brown Technical Writer

Wave design

Shoppers within a specific category often show unique patterns in their purchase journey. In this collection, we help brands understand how to reach relevant audiences based on how they browse, buy, and engage with Amazon.

We often say in advertising, “If you try to sell to everyone, then you’ll end up selling to no one.” Knowing and understanding your brand’s specific audience, their interests, and their shopping patterns are critical elements in driving a successful campaign. In a world where each conversion can be brought about through billions of possible signal combinations, Amazon Ads audience insights help break through the noise. Our goal is to connect your brand with your intended audience at the right time and place.

In previous research, we found lifestyle-oriented behaviors are an effective way to increase reach and ad relevance. In the Amazon Ads Audience Lifestyle Collection, we take a deeper look at lifestyle behaviors to provide advertisers with audience insights. In the collection we explore four audience personas: Entertainment, Athleisure, Heathy Lifestyle, and Eco-Friendly across three regions: United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. Here, we analyze the signals of the Athleisure audience— specifically, how and when they shop, what types of products they shop for, and what types of content they stream to show how Amazon Ads can help businesses throughout the brand journey, from brand awareness to basket growth.

Who are Athleisure customers

U.S. Athleisure customers made at least two Athleisure product purchases within the past 12 months. We find that interest within the category is growing, with sales increasing 50% in 2021. Today, there are 15M to 17M U.S. Athleisure customers—most of whom are 35 years old or older, married, live in urban areas, and have an annual household income (HHI) greater than $100k.

two people icon to demonstrate age

Age

76% <35 years

three people showing age and gender

Urbanicity

79% live in metro areas >250K

certificate

Status

78% Married

image of dollar bill representing household income

HHI

66% <$100K

United Kingdom Athleisure customers made at least two Athleisure product purchases within the past 12 months. We find that interest within the category is growing, with sales increasing 50% in 2021. Today, there are five to six million United Kingdom Athleisure customers—most of whom are between 26-55 years old, single, and have an annual household income (HHI) lower than £40K.

two people to demonstrate age

Age

76% 26-55 years

three people showing age and gender

Gender

58% Female

42% Male

certificate

Status

61% Single

dollar bill representing household income

HHI

67% <£40K

Canadian Athleisure customers made at least two Athleisure product purchases within the past 12 months. We find that interest within the category is growing, with sales increasing 50% in 2021. Today, there are about 2.5M Canadian Athleisure customers—most of whom are 35 years old or older, married, live in urban areas, and have a household income (HHI) above $100K.

two people icon to demonstrate age

Age

76% >35 years

three people showing age and gender

Urbanicity

79% live in metro areas >250K

certificate

Status

78% Married

dollar bill representing household income

HHI

66% <$100K

  • When do Athleisure customers shop

    This study looks at two indicators of shopper behavior: browsing and buying. We find that U.S. Athleisure customers browse the category throughout the year, and purchase more between October and January. We also find that most U.S. Athleisure customers shop Monday through Friday on smartphones.

    Image of two devices: computer and smartphone

    Device usage

    61% smartphone users

    Image of clock showing peak times

    Peak shopping

    >56% orders placed Mon-Fri

    Loyalty metrics image

    Loyalty metrics

    >98% have purchased within the last three months

    This study looks at two indicators of shopper behavior: browsing and buying. In both those cases, we find that United Kingdom Athleisure customers browse and buy consistently throughout the year. We also find that most United Kingdom Athleisure customers shop Monday through Friday on smartphones.

    two devices: computer and smartphone

    Device usage

    67% smartphone users

    clock showing peak times

    Peak shopping

    >69% orders placed Mon-Fri

    Loyalty metrics

    Loyalty metrics

    >97% have purchased within the last three months

    This study looks at two indicators of shopper behavior: browsing and buying. In both those cases, we find that Canadian Athleisure customers browse and buy consistently throughout the year. We also find that most Canadian Athleisure customers shop Monday through Friday on smartphones.

    Image of two devices: computer and smartphone

    Device usage

    65% smartphone users

    Image of clock showing peak times

    Peak shopping

    70% orders placed Mon-Fri

    Loyalty metrics image

    Loyalty metrics

    >96% have purchased within the last three months

  • What other products or categories do Athleisure customers purchase

    To better understand the U.S. Athleisure audience for brand advertisers, analyzed what other products they purchased. We looked at how much they spent on product categories, relative to the average U.S. Amazon customer, and how much more likely they were to have bought products from a category, relative to the average U.S. Amazon customer.

    This paints a picture of how likely they are to buy a product within a category, and how much they are willing to spend in that category. While this is just a sample of our research, we analyze 200 custom categories. For full details and to access the report, contact your Agency Development Manager.

    2.1x

    Grocery & Food

    2.1x composition index

    2.0x

    Apparel & Shoes

    2.0x composition index

    2.0x

    Sports & Outdoor

    2.0x composition index

    Composition Index = % of all Amazon customers who purchased / % of US Athleisure customers who purchased

    To better understand the United Kingdom Athleisure audience for brand advertisers, we did a shopping analysis to see what other products they purchased. We looked at how much they spent on product categories, relative to the average United Kingdom Amazon customer, and how much more likely they were to have bought products from a category, relative to the average United Kingdom Amazon customer.

    This paints a picture of how likely they are to buy a product within a category, and how much they are willing to spend in that category. While this is just a sample of our research, we analyze 200 custom categories. For full details and to access the report, contact your Agency Development Manager.

    3.7x

    Sports & Outdoor

    3.7x composition index

    2.3x

    Apparel & Shoes

    2.3x composition index

    2.0x

    Health & Home Care

    2.0x composition index

    Composition Index = % of United Kingdom Athleisure customers who purchased / % of all Amazon customers who purchased

    To better understand the Canadian Athleisure audience for brand advertisers, analyzed what other products they purchased. We looked at how much they spent on product categories, relative to the average Canadian Amazon customer, and how much more likely they were to have bought products from a category, relative to the average Canadian Amazon customer.

    This paints a picture of how likely they are to buy a product within a category, and how much they are willing to spend in that category. While this is just a sample of our research, we analyze 200 custom categories. For full details and to access the report, contact your Agency Development Manager.

    2.8x

    Sports & Outdoors

    2.8x composition index

    2.0x

    Grocery & Food

    2.0x composition index

    1.9x

    Apparel & shoes

    1.9x composition index

    Composition Index = % of Canadian Athleisure customers who purchased / % of all Amazon customers who purchased

  • Which streaming media channels are the Athleisure customers most active in

    When compared with the average U.S. Amazon customers, U.S. Athleisure customers are 2.3x more likely to have a streaming media device in their household. In addition, we discovered that their top three preferences for shows, across Fire TV, Freevee, and Amazon Prime Video are: children’s programming, drama, and comedy.

    1.8x

    Children's Programming

    1.7x

    Drama

    1.7x

    Comedy

    When compared with the average United Kingdom Amazon customers, United Kingdom Athleisure customers are 2.2x more likely to have a streaming media device in their household. In addition, we discovered that their top four preferences for genres across Fire TV, Freevee, and Amazon Prime Video are: animation, musicals, children’s programming, and teen programming.

    1.8x

    Animation

    1.7x

    Musical

    1.7x

    Children's Programming

    1.6x

    Reality

    When compared with the average Canadian Amazon customers, Canadian Athleisure customers are 3.4x more likely to have a streaming media device in their household. In addition, we discovered that their top four genre preferences for shows, across Fire TV, Freevee, and Amazon Prime Video are: crime, comedy, children’s programming, and romance.

    3.3x

    Crime

    3.0x

    Comedy

    2.9x

    Children's programming

    2.9x

    Romance

  • Conclusion and recommendations

    Our recommendations to reach this large-scale audience on Amazon are to explore advertising opportunities in Streaming TV ads across preferred genres, and to invest in campaigns according to customers' browse and buy preferences. To find out how to activate these audiences as part of your brand-building strategy, reach out to an Agency Development Manager.

    Methodology

    • Audience discovery: First, we analyze 400,000+ items sold on Amazon to gain insights on what consumers are browsing and buying.
    • Develop insights: Second, we look at the shopping journey, including when this audience shopped or browsed, what device types are used to shop, and media streaming patterns.
    • Create insights-driven recommendations: Third, we suggest ways for brands to reach this audience in relevant ways.

    Source: Amazon Ads Canvas study— 2021