The global surfing equipment market size was accounted for USD 3.1 billion, in 2018. It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 3.3% during the forecast period, 2019 to 2025. Nowadays, adventure sports and water sports are gaining high popularity among the millennial population especially among thrill seekers and adventure enthusiasts. Surfing is one of the popular water sports which is prevalent in countries such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Canada, the U.S., Australia, Portugal, and New Zealand. These countries have long coastlines. Therefore, there is a huge demand for surfing equipment in these countries. This factor is expected to proliferate the market growth over the forecast period.
Surfing has thousands of benefits in terms of fitness. It boosts the functioning of the cardiovascular system as it includes paddling in the water. Moreover, it helps in building the muscle strength of the back, arms, shoulders, and chest as it involves squatting, standing up, laying on the stomach, and other such activities to maintain balance on the surfing board. In addition, it helps in reducing stress and anxiety as it is performed in an open environment. It also helps in burning extra calories. These benefits are expected to influence people to perform surfing, thereby, driving the demand for surfing equipment.
Surfing is a part of professional sports, thereby, propelling the demand for professional surfing gear, accessories, and apparel. The Master's Championship, the Championship Tours, the Longboard Championship, and the Big Wave Championship are some of the popular surfing events conducted by the World Surf League. This surfing league presents the popular surfers, both male, and female, in various championships. The presence of such tournaments has influenced people to actively participate in such events. This factor is expected to boost the demand for surfing equipment across the globe.
The market is highly competitive in nature with the emergence of surfing as a professional sport and a leisure activity among the millennial population. Leading manufacturers are concentrating on product innovation to develop products with durable materials, attractive features, and innovative shapes to gain an edge over other competitors. For example, manufacturers are developing hybrid surfboards that are designed with a fusion of shortboard and fish surfboard. These hybrid boards are gaining high popularity among adventure enthusiasts and professional surfers. Furthermore, Hypo Krypto is a hybrid surfboard designed by Haydenshapes Surfboards. It performs exceptionally well in both conventional and modern surfing techniques.
By product, the market for surfing equipment is divided into two segments: apparel & accessories and surfing boards. In 2018, the surfing board product segment accounted for the largest market share of more than 65% and is expected to maintain its dominance from 2019 to 2025. Varieties of surfing boards are available in the market across the globe. Moreover, manufacturers are focusing on providing innovative, advanced, and customized products to fulfill the specific requirements of consumers. These factors are expected to drive the product demand over the forecast period. The surfing boards segment is further divided into shortboards and longboards. Shortboards are largely preferred by professional surfers due to their flexibility and performance. Therefore, this segment is more prominent than the longboards segment.
The segment of apparel & accessories is projected to expand at the fastest CAGR of 3.6% over the forecast period owing to rising participation in professional surfing tournaments and the rising interest of millennials in surfing. Board shorts are preferred during the summer season whereas wet suits are commonly worn as surfing apparel. Board shorts can also be worn as trendy and fancy beachwear products. These factors are anticipated to drive the segment growth. Quiksilver, Rip Curl, and Billabong is the most popular surfing wear brands.
In 2018, the segment of offline distribution channel held the largest surfing equipment market share of over 85.0% across the global market. Availability of a wide variety of surfing gear, apparel, and accessories coupled with ease of accessibility are the factors propelling the sales of such equipment through offline channels. The majority of the surfing sites and coastlines consist of local retail stores and stalls that attract tourists to purchase such equipment at affordable prices. Moreover, consumers can test the products before purchasing them. This is projected to proliferate the segment growth from 2019 to 2025.
The online segment is projected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 4.3% over the forecast period. These channels provide huge convenience to the buyers by delivering the products at the doorsteps of consumers. Moreover, factors such as easy payment options, lucrative offers, discounts, and availability of a wide variety of products such as surfing gear, apparel, accessories, costumes, and others with an option of customization are expected to propel the market growth over the forecast period.
In 2018, North America held the largest market share of over 45.0% across the global surfing equipment market. Countries such as Canada and U.S. are known for long coastlines, making them prominent destinations for surfing and other water sports. Some of the well-known surfing sites in Canada are the Mountain Wave in Alberta, the Chesterman Beach and Cox Bay Beach in British Columbia, Kincardine Beach Station in Ontario, Sturgeon Falls in Manitoba, and Sandbanks Provincial Park along Lake Ontario. However, some destinations in the U.S. such as Ocean City in New Jersey and Maryland, San Clemente in California, South Padre Island in Texas, and Virginia Beach in Virginia are prominent for surfing and other similar sports. This is expected to drive the regional demand for surfing equipment from 2019 to 2025.
Asia Pacific is projected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 3.9% over the forecast period. The growing popularity of surfing and other adventure sports among adventure enthusiasts and youngsters in countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Maldives, Thailand, Japan, and Vietnam is expected to drive the regional market. Moreover, New Zealand and Australia are among the most popular destinations for surfing across the globe. This is projected to attract a large group of consumers to perform surfing, thereby, driving the market for surfing equipment.
In addition, headquarter of the World Surf League (WSL) is in Australia. The majority of the popular surfing tournaments such as the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, the Men’s Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour, the Margaret River Pro in Western Australia, and the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast in Queensland are hosted in Australia. Moreover, the presence of leading manufacturers of surfing boards and equipment such as Quiksilver, Billabong, and Rip Curl is expected to boost the product demand in the region over the forecast period.
Leading players operating in this industry include Quiksilver, Inc.; Billabong; Nike, Inc.; CHANNEL ISLANDS SURFBOARDS; Shop Rusty Surfboards; Firewire Surfboards, LLC; Rip Curl International Pty Ltd; Shop Rusty Surfboards; CANNIBAL SURFBOARDS; O’Neill; and JS Industries. These companies are focusing on product innovation to develop advanced equipment with durable material, different sizes of surfing boards, different shapes, and improved performance.
Stewart Surfboards is one of the leading manufacturers of surfing equipment that is constantly engaged in developing advanced and unique surfboards with an option of customization. For example, the company launched a surfboard named the Night Stalker which enables the user to surf during nighttime. The 4-Man surfboard launched by the same company is capable of accommodating four adults. Thus, product innovation is expected to be the most prominent strategy among the competitors to gain a competitive advantage over others.
Attribute |
Details |
The base year for estimation |
2018 |
Actual estimates/Historical data |
2015 - 2017 |
Forecast period |
2019 - 2025 |
Market representation |
Revenue in USD Million & CAGR from 2019 to 2025 |
Regional scope |
North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Central & South America & Middle East & Africa |
Country scope |
U.S., U.K., France, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil |
Report coverage |
Revenue forecast, company share, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends |
15% free customization scope (equivalent to 5 analyst working days) |
If you need specific information, which is not currently within the scope of the report, we will provide it to you as a part of the customization |
This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2015 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Million Insights has segmented the global surfing equipment market report based on product, distribution channel, and region:
• Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)
• Surfing Boards
• Short Boards
• Long Boards
• Apparel & Accessories
• Distribution Channel Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)
• Online
• Offline
• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)
• North America
• U.S.
• Europe
• U.K.
• France
• Spain
• Portugal
• Asia Pacific
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Central & South America
• Brazil
• Middle East & Africa (MEA
Research Support Specialist, USA