SOUTHWICK ASSOCIATES MARCH 2016 NEWSLETTER: Focusing On Research And Statistics For Fishing, Hunting And Outdoor Agencies And NGOs

Welcome to the Southwick Associates March 2016 newsletter focusing on the economics, business and statistics of fish, wildlife, and their associated outdoor recreations.

Make it Local, Make it Real: Sportfishing Economic Insights for Congressional Districts

New infographic pages are now available which depict recreational fishing’s economic impacts on all 435 Congressional districts and the 50 states.American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and Southwick Associates have released a report, Economic Contributions of Recreational Fishing: U.S. Congressional Districts , providing greater detail than ever before. In the U.S.A., 46 million anglers generate more than $48 billion in retail sales, creating a $115 billion impact on the nation’s economy creating employment for more than 800,000 people.

The information presented is from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services’ 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation , conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Census Bureau, as presented in ASA’s Sportfishing in America report. The study details smaller geographic areas relevant to members of the U.S. House of Representatives.  These reports can raise awareness among Members of Congress about the importance of recreational fishing in their state or district.

Recreational fishing is the foundation of an industry that involves manufacturing, sale or provision of tackle, and services such as tackle retailers, boat builders, hotels, restaurants. The results in Economic Contributions of Recreational Fishing: U.S. Congressional Districts report the economic contributions for the respective state economies from anglers who live within each of the congressional districts.

Southwick Associates March 2016 Newsletter


A Friendly Way to Track Trends: 

Data Dashboards for State Agencies

 

Southwick Associates March 2016 NewsletterProducing statistics and trend data is one thing, but actually getting them into the hands and heads of those who need them is a completely different challenge. For state fish and wildlife agencies who need the support of staff at all levels to effectively engage and retain customers, this has been a huge challenge over the years. Recent work in Oregon and other states shows there may be better ways to communicate and distribute vital statistics to agency staff: data dashboards.

The skills required to analyze and package data limit the number of people who are able to explore a state’s license data, and, given the complex reports needed to convey findings, ensure customer trends and insights remain well-kept secrets. By using data dashboard tools such as Tableau, after one person first packages the data, all staff can then simply click boxes on the side of the screen to see trends and customer profiles. By making such key insights easy to access on demand, a greater percentage of agency staff will be on the same page, increasing the likelihood of implementing effective, science-based marketing strategies Plus, staff can quickly respond to inquiries about sales and customer trends. If you have questions about how data dashboards can be implemented in your agency, contact Rob Southwick ( rob@southwickassociates.com).

Southwick Associates March 2016 Newsletter

Angler and Hunter’s Poor License Renewal Rates, Lifestyles, Intentions and More

Southwick Associates March 2016 NewsletterOver the past 5 months, the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) have been releasing a series of reports providing important insights for state and non-profit’s R3 efforts. Based on 10 years of detailed license records and produced by Southwick Associates, these informative articles present the percent of anglers (46%) and hunters (%) who do not renew their licenses in any given year. Plus, renewal rates are also shared for specific types of anglers and hunters, including females who renew at much lower rates than men, partially offsetting the increases in participation seen among women in recent years.  The results also show how the percentage of people aged 18-34 – today’s Millennial generation – has been rapidly decreasing in recent years, posing a significant threat to future conservation funding. These reports also shed insights into sportsmen and women’s lifestyle, including the segments of the U.S. public more likely to purchase a fishing or hunting license, where they live and common lifestyle characteristics. Such information is useful by marketers to help design and implement targeted promotions and marketing campaigns.

For results from this detailed multi-report effort, visit the ASA’s website and NSSF’s special R3 blog to view summary articles and detailed reports. In March, visit again for a single summary powerpoint presentation listing all the highlights and major findings. For more information, contact Rob Southwick.


Interest in Shooting Sports Among Multi-Cultural Audiences

Southwick Associates March 2016 NewsletterIn 2015, to support its marketing and outreach efforts, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) commissioned Southwick Associates to examine interests, preferences, concerns and barriers regarding target shooting among major cultural audiences within the U.S. It turns out, except for sharp differences across age groups, interest levels trying target shooting is high among the U.S.’s Hispanic, African-American, Asian-American and Caucasian communities. Of those who have not tried shooting in recent years, virtually zero percent of respondents contacted through a third party online sample report having no interest in trying target shooting, indicating significant growth potential for the shooting sports. This growth potential may be significant considering that the Hispanic, African-American and Asian-American communities together will comprise the majority of the U.S. population by mid-century, with Caucasians becoming a minority.  Younger people under age 34 are almost twice as likely as people in their 50s and 60s to score the highest interest levels in target shooting. Also, Hispanics and African-Americans are much more likely (26% and 27%) than Asians (15%) and Caucasians (13%) to be definitely interested in participating in the shooting sports.  There is also little difference between the sexes regarding interest levels. Lastly, the preferred language among Hispanics, be it Spanish or English, has little effect on their interest levels.

Motivations and Preferences

The best promotional campaigns will include messaging and imagery that reflect the reasons why non-shooters might be attracted to ranges.

The top five themes that best describe why non-shooters are interested in shooting are:

}  To have fun and experience excitement                       58%

}  To improve my shooting skills                                        47%

}  To learn how to protect myself and my property        49%

}  To better understand firearms                                       43%

}  To learn a challenging sport                                           41%

If a range’s local community is skewed towards any specific group, local promotions should be targeted towards their interests. Hispanics are more drawn than others by fun and excitement, experiencing something new and spending time with family. Women are more drawn than men by feeling empowered, learning how to protect themselves, better understanding firearms and spending time with family and friends.

Lapsed shooters have different motivations for getting re-engaged. They are interested in shooting again primarily because it’s challenging (56%), but also to develop shooting skills (47%), to learn how to safely handle a gun (41%), because it’s fun and exciting (38%), and for self-protection (33%). All other reasons registered less than 17% of respondents. Among lapsed shooters, Hispanics and Asian-Americans are mostly drawn by the challenge and excitement of shooting, and African-Americans prefer to develop their shooting skills.

When it comes to whom first-time shooters prefer to shoot with, friends ranked first (59%) followed by spouses (40%) or alone (23%). Young people especially view target shooting as a social activity – over 80% of people age 18-24 would prefer to shoot with friends. Hispanics and Caucasians are more likely than other groups to prefer shooting with their spouses. Women are twice as likely as men to want to shoot with their spouses (54% versus 27%); men are twice as likely to prefer shooting alone (31% versus 16%).

Shooting with a handgun is of greatest interest (67%), but many respondents are interested in other types of firearms as well, such as air guns (26%), rifles (40%) and shotguns (22%). Asian-Americans are somewhat more likely than other groups to prefer starting with air guns rather than handguns. Men are much more likely than women to want to shoot with rifles.

For first-time target shooters, 90% would prefer to visit a range that is staffed. There is no difference in response across race/ethnicity, gender or preferred language. Once at the range, the services most desired by respondents include free safety gear (65%), safety staff on-hand (59%), mandatory safety instruction for first-timers (56%), personal instruction for first-timers (56%) and designated lanes for first-timers (54%). Women are more likely than men to want these services.

Communication and Promotions

Electronic methods may be the preferred and most cost-effective means for reaching people interested in trying target shooting. Respondents report they are most likely to use Google (73%) to find local ranges, followed by friends or word-of-mouth (50%), and online reviews (37%). The preference for Google is clearly related to age: approximately 95% of people age 18-24 prefer Google compared to less than 55% of people age 65 and older. Caucasians are less likely than others to use Google and more likely to rely on friends and word-of-mouth. This might relate to Caucasians being more likely to use ranges and therefore more likely to know someone that actively visits ranges. Women are somewhat more likely to use online reviews and friends; men are somewhat more likely to use Google and YouTube. There are no significant differences between Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian-Americans.

Providing the right information is important if non-shooters are to make the decision to finally visit a range. Prices (80%), directions to the range (73%), types of shooting available (66%), services for beginners (64%) and operating hours (63%) are the top five pieces of information respondents would like to know before visiting a range. Women are more likely than men to want any of these pieces of information – except directions – before visiting a range. There are no significant differences between Hispanics, African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Caucasians in types of information preferred.

In addition to basic information, incentives can help encourage non-shooters to “pull the trigger” and visit a range. Respondents say they would be most persuaded to visit a range by discount coupons (56%), a special beginner’s event (55%) and a beginner’s deal that included firearm rental, ammunition and safety equipment (48%). Young people are more likely than others to use almost any incentive except for a multi-visit discount. African-Americans are more interested in special packages for beginners, Asian-Americans are more interested in discount promotions online and Hispanics are more interested in events for first-time shooters, though the overall differences are slight for all of these incentives. Women are more likely to respond to discounts, events and packages for beginners.

By understanding the interests, motivations, preferences and barriers associated with potential new customers, the NSSF wants to help promotional efforts become more effective and provide greater returns on investment. According to Samantha Pedder, Manager, Outreach and Diversity for the NSSF, “We recognize that the face of America is changing. The future of hunting and target shooting depends on active participants. It is the NSSF’s priority to ensure that everyone sees hunting and target shooting as inclusive, accessible and as a valuable way to spend their leisure time. This study is a key part of our strategy to strengthen and diversify participation in hunting and the shooting sports.” Ranges, firearm retailers and other industry members are encouraged to carefully review and employ the results of this report to maintain growth in hunting and the shooting sports.


Southwick Associates is a market research and economics firm, specializing in the hunting, shooting, sportfishing, and outdoor recreation markets.  For more than 25 years, Southwick Associates has established a proven record for delivering comprehensive insights and statistics assisting business and strategic decisions across the entire outdoor industry; from government agencies, industry associations and non-profit organizations, to affiliated businesses and manufacturers.  Aside from custom market research, Southwick Associates also provides syndicated participation, media consumption and equipment purchase tracking studies utilizing their proprietary sportsmen panels.

keyboard_arrow_up