Outdoor participation continues to grow, creating new opportunities to strengthen the outdoor economy. In this session, Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) will share the latest insights into who’s getting outside, how people are participating, and what these trends mean for brands and retailers.

Drawing from OIA’s trusted research and business intelligence, this session will explore participation trends, demographic shifts, and the fastest growing outdoor activities—connecting the data to consumer behavior and spending. Attendees will gain actionable insights to help make informed decisions, better serve both core and casual outdoor participants, and translate participation growth into meaningful business impact.

As part of OIA’s work to champion equitable outdoor experiences that strengthen the outdoor industry, this session equips attendees with the data and insights needed to navigate a growing and evolving market.

What we’ll cover:

• The latest outdoor participation trends and demographic shifts
• Who’s entering the outdoor market and how engagement is evolving
• Differences in participation and spending between core and casual consumers
• Where and how outdoor consumers are shopping
• How to use OIA data and insights to inform business and growth strategies
• The fastest growing outdoor activities – it’s not what you’d expect!

This guided discussion will help independent retailers reframe durability to their customers – moving beyond “technical performance” and into something retailers can sell, explain, and operationalize on the floor. We will explore how to make durability a central point of discovery in the customer journey and address product longevity as a key value driver for shopping at your store. Attendees will leave with more knowledge and a practical tool kit to implement better sustainability messaging and practices into their retail sales model.

What we’ll cover:

• How to communicate product durability in ways that build loyalty and trust with your customers
• How to navigate the buying cycle and purchasing decisions when bringing longer-lasting products into your store
• How to leverage untapped resources for your customers through product storytelling, care education, repair programs, warranties, resale, and more

For outdoor brands, importers, manufacturers, and the independent retailers who depend on them, trade policy has become a core business issue. Tariffs, legal uncertainty, and shifting global dynamics are driving up costs, disrupting inventory, and squeezing margins across the entire supply chain — and the effects don’t stop at the brand level. When sourcing costs rise and supply chains are thrown into uncertainty, independent retailers feel it on the ground: in the products available to them, the prices they’re asked to pay, and the customers they’re trying to serve. 

This session will break down the current trade landscape. It will highlight what recent developments mean for our industry, explore how brands, importers, and manufacturers are navigating disruption, and dive into what that means for the independent retailers who are their closest partners.

The outdoor industry has a unique opportunity right now: to lead cultural change while driving long-term growth in participation that can strengthen the whole market. The question is whether we will act together or continue working in silos that cannot meet the scale of the challenge. 

The future of outdoor participation will not be determined by marketing alone. It depends on whether we can expand who feels welcomed, equipped, and supported to get outside – and whether we can cement a culture of belonging that is strong enough to move people from first-time experiences into core participation.

In this session, Lesford Duncan, Executive Director of the Outdoor Foundation, shares an ecosystem approach to participation growth, grounded in the belief that thriving systems depend on connection, trust reciprocity, and shared investment. Drawing from the Outdoor Participation Trends Report and the Outdoor Foundation’s Thrive Outside Initiative, this session offers a practical framework for how brands, retailers, and community partners can align to reduce barriers, strengthen local connections, and create sustained pathways into outdoor recreation – especially for communities that have been historically underrepresented and excluded.

Attendees will leave with real-world examples of how expanding access and belonging can grow participation frequency, long-term loyalty, and the future customer base for the outdoor industry.

Outdoor recreation depends on the places people love — but the future of those places is being decided right now in Washington. Federal policy is at an inflection point: the reauthorization of the Legacy Restoration Fund, the implementation of the EXPLORE Act, and sweeping agency changes are reshaping how public lands are funded, managed, and accessed. For the outdoor industry, this is not a moment to watch from the sidelines.

This panel puts federal policy front and center, examining how decisions being made at the federal level — on deferred maintenance funding, permitting reform, recreation modernization, and accessibility — will directly affect the businesses, communities, and customers that depend on public lands. We’ll explore how the outdoor industry can move beyond advocacy and into active partnership with policymakers to help shape the next era of recreation access and public lands investment.

There’s a proverb of unknown origin that states, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Today, the outdoor industry is facing constant challenges: supply chain disruptions, cautious consumers, an active legislative and regulatory environment along with a growing focus on top- and bottom-line results, and so much more. Could a renewed focus on product durability across the industry provide solutions to these challenges and improve your bottom line?

Join durability experts and outdoor brand leaders for a candid discussion around durability as a tangible consumer benefit.

What we’ll cover:

• Meeting sustainability goals and reducing environmental impacts by extending product life, minimizing waste and ensuring product safety
• Driving profitable growth and building consumer trust in these volatile and demanding conditions
• Navigating obstacles to adopt durability as a holistic business strategy, including challenges in material science, construction standards, and the implementation of new industry initiatives and testing protocols
• Joining forces as an industry to position durability and long product life as an antidote to consumerism and fast fashion