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In the wide world of sporting goods retail, a few major retailers dominate the American landscape. Dick’s Sporting Goods remains the largest chain store across the country, while Academy Sports + Outdoors maintains a strong presence in the South and Midwest regions.
Although experiencing a decline in overall Q1 sales, Academy Sports has seen steady growth in its e-commerce sales, making the retailer one to watch. CivicScience data show interest in Academy Sports (as well as awareness of the brand) has grown rapidly year-over-year. In 2024, more than half of U.S. adults are aware of the retailer (57%). Among those aware, 42% enjoy shopping there, which represents a major influx since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when just 29% were favorable.
While interest is highest among respondents living in the U.S. South (48%) where the retailer has brick-and-mortar locations, data show favorability among all U.S. regions. Coupled with lower levels of awareness in the Northeast and West, that suggests the retailer has room to expand and grow. Academy Sports also has high favorability among Hispanic Americans – 50% of Hispanic consumers familiar with the company are fans of the retailer.
Appealing to Online and Back-to-School Shoppers
Carving out an e-commerce space isn’t without challenges for sporting goods retailers. Most Americans still opt to purchase athletic apparel and footwear in stores, with big-box stores such as Walmart competing for first place with sporting goods stores such as Academy Sports and Dick’s. Just under one-third of shoppers say they typically make athletic apparel or footwear purchases online.1
Academy Sports favorables already have a significant online presence – 41% say they do more than half of their retail shopping online. That outpaces the yearly average for the general population (35% in 2024 who say the same).2 And the retailer has a big opportunity to capture this year’s back-to-school shoppers on the hunt for new athletic apparel, shoes, and gear. Recent CivicScience data show that two-thirds of back-to-school shoppers plan to do at least some of their shopping online. That rises to 81% of those who enjoy shopping at Academy Sports.
What Shoppers Want
Academy Sports has a strong standing among leading retailers. When given a choice of four major sporting goods retailers – Dick’s Sporting Goods, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Champs Sports, and Big 5 Sporting Goods – 37% of consumers say they are likely to make a purchase from one of these in the next 30 days. Dick’s leads at 42%, but Academy Sports is not far behind, capturing 32% of these likely buyers.
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What will shoppers be looking for? Here’s what the data show:
- Brand is a driving motivator – 72% of Academy Sports shoppers say brand is more or equally as important as price when it comes to making apparel and accessory purchases.
- They are twice as likely to cite “quality” over “price/deals” as the leading reason they are loyal to the brands they buy.
- However, more than half say they have become more price sensitive in the past 12 months. That suggests these shoppers will be increasingly looking for the best value for their purchases. Previous findings have shown the opportunity to use buy now, pay later programs to finance purchases could be advantageous.
Overall, the data suggest that Academy Sports + Outdoors is well-positioned to expand online. Its favorable audience, especially its back-to-school shoppers, already maintains a strong likelihood to make online purchases. Shoppers will most likely be looking for ways to save on their favorite brands.
