Understanding the many sports interests of your core customers provides opportunities to cross-promote products and services. If you’re already selling fall hunting products, for example, why not also find ways to keep interacting with those same customers for the rest of the year?

In a previous blog, we looked at cross-participation in recreational activities among firearms hunters. Now, let’s look at some new data on cross-participation as it pertains to the U.S. population of 5,843,000 bowhunters.

This information comes from a recently released research study conducted by the National Sporting Goods Association. The results are based on responses from 34,000 individuals, and the data applies to participants 7 years of age and older.

As was the case with firearms hunters, bowhunters exhibit higher participation than the general U.S. population in nearly every activity covered by the study. A few key findings:

• While total U.S. participation in firearms hunting is only 6.1% of the population, 79.9% of bowhunters report that they also gun-hunt.

• Not surprisingly, a good portion (41.9%) of bowhunters also shoot target archery.

• Camping (43.6%), freshwater fishing (41%), hiking (39.9%), firearms target shooting (36.5%) and exercise walking (36.4%) are all activities in which bowhunters cross-participate, and they do so at rates much higher than the rest of the population.

Below are the complete cross-participation results. Again, a key, obvious takeaway is that bowhunters, like firearms hunters, are extremely active in multiple areas outside of their fall hunting pursuits, and that means opportunities to cross-merchandise the associated gear for these other activities. With a strategic approach to offering goods and services that appeal to their multiple interests, you have the chance to develop customers who look to your business year-round.

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