Like a volcano that has been suppressed for a long time, the May Day holiday has just passed, and people are pouring out to every outdoor corner where they can breathe in the fresh air.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 230 million domestic tourists visited China during the May Day holiday, an increase of 119.7 percent over the same period last year, which has already surpassed the pre-epidemic level on a comparable basis and recovered to 103.2 percent of the pre-epidemic level.

Among them, outdoor tourism has become the choice of many tourists. According to data released by Feizhu, during the May Day holiday, young consumers are keen on outdoor sports, such as desert camping, rock climbing and hiking, diving and skydiving, with bookings increasing by more than 200% year on year.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, outdoor tourism has been on a high trend because its open space has satisfied consumers' demand for safety, and hiking is the outdoor tourism project with the highest participation.

In the hiking supplies demand, the primary equipment is a pair of hiking hiking shoes. But some hikers are turning their eyes to the lighter, more lifestyle-based Sneakerboot than the traditional hiking shoe.

What's the difference between them and traditional hiking shoes?

Sneaker boots have been on the market for years.

Forbes wrote four years ago that sneaker boots are aimed at consumers, especially millennials, who are reluctant to give up their sneakers for the winter. These young consumers are represented by Jake Anderson and Sam Barstow, who founded outdoor sports brand Forsake.

▲ Sneakers and boots from Forsake.

The top of the sneaker looks like a traditional hiking shoe, but the bottom has a comfortable athletic sole. With the advantage of good traction and stability, sneaker boots become lighter. In addition to hiking, the applicable scenario can also be extended to the bar, mountain bike riding, road pressure, and so on.

In the design, athletic shoes give up the traditional hiking shoes rough, "reduction" to some extent can reduce the cost of shoes, and fashionable design is more in line with the taste and lifestyle of contemporary young people, no doubt more suitable for those who do not often hiking hiking needs.

John Burch, senior vice president of global operations at American outdoor brand Merrell, told Forbes that they are seeing an increase in light hiking products. "Consumers are looking for stylish but functional shoes, and light hiking shoes are a great entry level shoe."

In addition to Forsake, there is a growing list of brands embracing this new walking shoe, including Danner, Merrell, Salomon, Timberland, Oboz and Hoka One One.

Nike's SneakerBoot collection, launched earlier this year, improves the cold-weather performance of the classic Nike sneaker, offering more protection and functionality for those who want to wear their favorite sneaker in all seasons. SneakerBoot is more resistant to the weather and is positioned as both lightweight and all-weather resistant.

There are other footwear that look like sneaker boots, such as some brands of high-top sneakers, but these aren't true hiking shoes or boots with athletic soles. Lazy bear sports learned from some domestic brands, they have also developed similar products, "low top to middle top, vamp thickening, inner cotton, the original is to adapt to the northern market, especially the northeast." But no category has been created for this purpose, and the emergency approach is clearly not of hiking boot quality.

▲ Sneakerboot from Nike.

Outdoor hiking has a big market potential, but sneakers and boots are still a niche category

China's outdoor sports industry has reached 53.7 billion yuan in 2018, according to data from China Research Institute.

However, according to China Hiking Tourism Development Report (2019) (hereinafter referred to as the Report), 94.3% of the outdoor population participated in hiking projects in 2019, and hiking became the most frequently participated and favorite outdoor sports project of the outdoor population for the fourth consecutive year. Eighty percent of the outdoor hiking users showed a demand for hiking hiking shoes.

It can be seen that both outdoor hiking itself and hiking hiking shoes have considerable market size and consumer population. With the help of the epidemic, sales of hiking shoes will continue to rise.

▲ Sneaker boots by Timberland.

An observation by Matt Powell, a senior industry consultant on sports at the NPD Group, corroborates the trend. Powell told Forbes that sales of hiking shoes in the United States dropped in the first half of 2020 due to the in-home ban, but rose 22 percent in the second half of 2020 and 60 percent in the first quarter of 2021, and "I expect hiking to remain strong in 2021."

In addition, the report points out that outdoor hikers spend more than 3-5,000 yuan a year on equipment, with 86.6 percent spending less than 5,000 yuan. More than 60 percent of the outdoor hikers are women, and the proportion of high spending of women over 30,000 yuan is higher than that of men.

This is also a lesson for sneaker boots: focus on female hikers and offer products that fit the budget. In this regard, Forsake has already launched a women's line in 2016, with The Patch being The best seller in The women's line.

These new consumer trends on the other side of the ocean may have some category implications for domestic brands.