Importance of eCommerce in Sports

I recently joined Icecat as a sales and marketing intern for the French market. Although I am currently studying for an MSc in International Business Engineering, this internship will enrich my sales, marketing, and account management skills and allow me to graduate. The goal of my internship is to take on new challenges and improve my sales skills. Also, I want to contribute to the company’s growth by developing its services. Since I have a passion for sports, I will focus on e-commerce in sports and highlight the latest commerce trends in this post.

Global overview

The pandemic has remarkably impacted our lives as it changed people’s habits and how they consume. On the one hand, due to the closure of physical stores, people were forced to buy online. A habit that is present even after the pandemic. According to a study made by Euromonitor, more than 80% of people purchase their needed products online. Buying online helped the sports industry to recover its pre-covid growth and economy.

On the other hand, it also changed the way people live. Consumers are more concerned about their health and well-being than before the pandemic. As a result, new sports methods have appeared, either at home or in dedicated gyms. That is why companies are adapting to the growth of sports by creating more sports apparel and products to sell online, thanks to improved technology and supply chains. Therefore, sports is one of the fastest growing industries in e-commerce. According to Euromonitor, by 2025, the industry will grow by 10% to reach 400 billion Euros.

French overview

According to FashionNetwork.com, more than 33% of French people that did not practice sports want to or started doing sports. The sports industry generated a revenue of 2.2 billion Euros in only two months. According to the French Ministry of Sports, the French spend about 253 Euros on sports-related products.

There is fierce competition between marketplaces such as Cdiscount or Amazon and sports specialists such as Decathlon or PrivateSportShop to attract consumers and increase their incomes and market share. One of France’s key sports industry actors is Cdiscount, thanks to its consolidated marketplace, which is one of the most visited in France. Its success is partially due to the wide variety of products offered. In the same way, Decathlon is following the digitalization era by switching to e-commerce. As a result, in 2021, it made a revenue of 77 million euros on online sales, consolidating themselves as the leader.

Conclusion

In my opinion, Icecat should follow this new trend of the ever-growing and expanding e-commerce industry by increasing its sports product content from sport-related brands. But also strengthen ties with existing partners, such as Cdiscount and marketplaces. Also, set new partnerships with other key players in the market, such as Privatesportshop or Decathlon. This is because they constantly change their services towards e-commerce to keep their dominant position in the market.