Travel Goods Association Releases 2008 Report on sales of travel products: State of the U.S. Travel Goods Market 1999-2008
Princeton, NJ — year that started off with record energy prices and ended with the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression led Americans to dramatically reduce purchases of travel goods, according to a new report from the Travel Goods Association (TGA). Travel goods are defined as luggage, backpacks, travel/sports bags, business cases/computer bags, handbags, personal leather goods, and luggage locks. TGA’s report estimates that U.S. consumers spent $19.9 billion on these items in 2008, a decline of 14.9% from record sales in 2007.
“Due to the high cost of flying through much of 2008 and fears about losing their jobs and their savings in the fourth quarter, American consumers pulled back travel goods purchases across the board,” explains Michele Marini Pittenger, TGA’s President. “Thanks to record gas prices during the peak travel season in the summer, followed by the bad economic climate in the fall, sales of luggage, business and computer cases and travel bags took the biggest hit in 2008.”
“While consumers still wanted to buy handbags, personal leather goods, backpacks and other travel goods for everyday use, economic concerns drove consumers to look for these products at bargain prices. As a result, even though sales of those products held steady or declined only slightly in 2008, consumers bought those products at significantly lower prices,” commented Pittenger.
Soaring energy prices and other factors also led to dramatic increases in costs, meaning that slumping sales and lower prices translated into squeezed margins for U.S. travel goods retailers and brands. Here’s a quick look at how TGA estimates each of the major travel goods categories performed in 2008:
Luggage
The perfect storm of soaring energy prices, new airline restrictions and the bad economy took its largest toll on luggage sales. TGA estimates that luggage sales fell 18.2% by volume and 21.0% by value in 2008. The average price for luggage slipped 3.5% as those few consumers still buying luggage chose to buy at lower price points than in past years.
Backpacks
Backpacks fared the economic maelstrom the best out of all travel goods in 2008. TGA estimates that unit volume sales of backpacks remained essentially unchanged in 2008, while the value of those sales dropped only 3.8 percent. Again, consumers still were shopping for bargains, forcing the average price paid on backpacks down by 3.7% in 2008.
Travel/Sports Bags
With companies slashing the use of “freebies,” or promotional bags in the current economic climate, TGA estimates that unit volume sales of travel/sports bags fell 16.8% and sales by value declined 18.3% in 2008. Retail prices slipped an estimated 1.8% in 2008.
Business Cases/Computer Bags
With other travel goods, like backpacks and totes, eating into its traditional market share, and consumers looking at business cases and computer cases as a luxury they could not afford, TGA estimates that sales fell 11.6 percent by volume and 9.4% by value in 2008. Those consumers still buying, however, were still willing to pay the price for quality, versatility and design. Bucking the prevailing trend, average retail prices for business cases/computer bags rose by 2.5% in 2008.
Handbags
While TGA estimates that women still bought an incredible 351.2 million handbags in 2008, women’s love affair with handbags seemed to ebb slightly in the face of a bad economy. TGA estimates that unit volume sales slid slightly (-2.4%) in 2008 and sales dropped 12.6% by value. More striking, however, is that women were no longer willing or capable of paying the price for “the” bag, instead satisfying their love with lower priced bags that better fit within their recession-strained budgets. As a result, the average retail price for handbags fell 10.4% in 2008.
Personal Leather Goods
With declines in sales of new cell phones, MP3 players and similar electronic gadgets, consumers found no need to buy as many personal leather goods to carry those items in 2008. TGA estimates sales of personal leather goods fell 8.9% by volume and 15.5% by value in 2008. Those consumers that were still in the market for personal leather goods were looking for bargains, driving the average retail price for personal leather goods down by 7.2% in 2008.
Luggage Locks
Consumers replacing their old locks with TSA-approved luggage locks helped buoy sales of luggage locks that would have otherwise suffered from the airlines’ new check bagged policies and the economic climate. TGA estimates that sales of luggage locks slipped only 0.5% by volume in 2008. Sales by value, however, fell by 6.5% meaning that sales came at a price – a 6.1% decline in the average retail price of luggage locks in 2008.
For more information, go to TGA’s just released State of the U.S. Travel Goods Market 1999-2008 Report (PDF format) or contact TGA at 877-842-1938, x-705 to learn more about the latest trends in the U.S. travel goods market.
