How Team and Racket Sports performed in Amazon’s store in the UK
By: Genya Evseeva, Associate Analytics and Media Manager, and Ashton Brown, Technical Writer
In this post, we will look at the year-over-year metrics of the Team and Racket Sports category between November 2020 and October 2021 through two lenses. First, we look at how the category performs overall within the Sports category in Amazon’s store in the UK in terms of total sales and sales growth. Second, we highlight the shopping trends within the category.
After looking through both lenses, Team and Racket Sports advertisers should have an understanding of how the category is performing overall, as well as how overall shopping behaviour trends within the category have changed.
Combined, these insights provide advertisers with metrics that can assist with media and product planning.
Category performance between November 2020 and October 2021
At the time of our analysis, the Team and Racket Sports category was seventh in sales and second in sales growth rank among other peer categories. Below are the top-ranking categories in the Sports vertical in Amazon’s store in the UK:
- Exercise & Fitness (first in sales; third in sales growth rank)
- Outdoor Sports Equipment (second in sales; first in sales growth rank)
- Outdoor Sports Apparel (third in sales; fourth in sales growth rank)
- Athletic Sports Apparel (fourth in sales; fifth in sales growth rank)
- Team and Racket Sports (seventh in sales; second in sales growth rank)
Shopping behaviours
Shifting from category performance metrics to shopping metrics, we look at two trends: (1) How are new-to-category customers (customers purchasing a product within a category for the first time) entering Team and Racket Sports: and (2) What are they shopping for within the category?
The share of new customers is highest in November, December, March, April, June and September
Team and Racket Sports shoppers who visit the category for the first time are potential new customers, so it’s important to understand how and when they enter the category. We find that the share of new customers is highest in November, December, March, April, June and September.
Monthly share of new-to-category customers
57% of new-to-category shoppers enter through the Football Balls subcategory
Of the shoppers who enter the Team and Racket Sports category in 2021, 57% have entered the category through the Football Balls subcategory.
Top entry subcategories
Football Balls: 57%
Tennis Balls: 15%
Team and Racket Sports Accessories: 15%
Basketballs: 13%
61% of new-to-category shoppers purchase other products
While it is important to understand how and where customers are entering the category, it may also be useful to know where else these customers may be shopping in Amazon’s store in the UK. Our findings show that 61% of new-to-category customers purchase products from other categories prior to purchasing a Team and Racket Sports product. Top overlap categories, ordered by purchase propensity, are:
Top overlap categories by purchase propensity
Licensed Sports (shoe and boot cleaners)
Game Room and Leisure (ping-pong tables and ping-pong balls)
Boys Tops (t-shirts, jerseys)
Educational Supplies (storage tins, binders)
Conclusion
As seen in this study, the Team and Racket Sports was the seventh-ranked category in terms of sales in the Sports vertical in Amazon’s store in the UK, and is growing faster than peer categories within the Sports vertical. We also see that the share of new customers is highest in November, December, March, April, June and September.
To improve performance Amazon’s store in the UK, Team and Racket Sports advertisers can consider adjusting ad spend to better align with the top-entry subcategories and within the high-entry months. Advertisers looking to attract new-to-category customers should also consider incorporating top overlap categories into their ad campaigns.
Source: Amazon internal data – Team and Racket Sports (November 2020-October 2021)