Looking to start an online or dropshipping store around the hiking niche?
In that case, this article will be incredibly valuable for you.
A big part of starting your own online store is doing research.
Before you start advertising, you must know things like:
- Which product are you going to sell?
- What kind of people will like it?
- What are your competitors doing?
- And more.
By knowing these things, you will have a much greater chance of succeeding and beating your competition.
Well, you're in luck. We have taken some work out of your hands and already did a bit of research on the hiking niche!
In this article, you will find some essential information about the hiking niche, such as the ecommerce market statistics, a list of five inspiring online store examples, and a list of six excellent hiking niche products.
Be aware though, do not recklessly copy and paste everything from another online store to your own store.
This will not work.
It's essential to put a lot of effort into your business and make it unique for the highest chances of succeeding.
With that out of the way, let me tell you some things about the hiking niche!
Information about the hiking niche
When people go hiking, they go for an (often pretty long) recreational walk through the woods or country.
Some people also love going hiking for multiple days successively, which is called backpacking.
As you can imagine, these long walks can't be done easily when wearing your regular jeans and shoes.
Hikers need special equipment such as rainproof gear, a backpack, and sturdy boots for the best hiking experience.
Furthermore, almost all hikers carry water, food, and a map in special containers.
But that's not all. Hikers will buy a variety of products that will make the walk more comfortable and safer. Think about:
- A compass
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- A first aid kit
- A fire starter
- A knife
- A GPS navigation device
- Ultra-light tents
- and more!
Hiking can give you a lot of benefits. I won't go through all of them here, but I found this awesome article that showcases a list of eight benefits you will get from hiking.
Tip: A great ad or product description showcases the benefits of using the product. Use the benefits in the article above as inspiration!
The great thing about the hiking niche is that lately, it has been trending:
I think this is due to the coronavirus. When governments introduced measures to combat the pandemic, many people were locked up inside their homes, and some weren't able to play their favorite indoor sport.
Meanwhile, hiking was one of the few activities that almost everyone was able to do, and therefore, the interest in it started trending upwards.
The hiking niche: Market information
Actually, the hiking market has already been trending for a longer time.
Between 2014 and 2019, the hiking gear and equipment market grew at a roughly 5% compound annual growth rate, while it is projected that this growth rate will rise to 6.3% between 2019 and 2027.
In 2019, the global hiking gear and equipment market was estimated at $4.5 billion, and it is expected to reach $7.4 billion by 2027.
Those are some pretty nice growth numbers, right?
As for the audience, you will find most customers in the US and Canada. That's because North America dominated the hiking market with a share of 63.2% in 2019.
Last but not least, your target audience will be difficult to distinguish in terms of age. As you can see in the image below, pretty much all age groups love hiking.
This is the share of Americans who went hiking in the last 12 months of 2018:
The list of 5 amazing hiking niche online stores
As I've mentioned before, I will show you some great online stores and dropshipping products for inspiration.
We will start with some examples of online stores in the hiking niche.
But don’t worry, I won’t just post a few links to some stores and call it a day.
I will also review each store on this list and tell you about some things you can learn from them.
Hopefully, this list will inspire you to create your own (hiking) store. As a last tip, don’t forget that you can look at the catalog of these stores to find some more excellent hiking product examples.
Let’s go!
Important reminder: These examples are intended to inspire creativity and innovation in building your own brand.
While it can be helpful to learn from successful businesses, it is essential to avoid simply copying their strategies and ideas. Instead, strive to create a unique brand that sets your business apart and resonates with your target audience.
1. Cotopaxi
The first online store example I have for you today is a great one; Cotopaxi.
Cotopaxi's strongest point is that it really seems like they genuinely want to do good for not only their customers but also the planet.
They have a great website design and story.
I will go over some of the things you should look at below:
The colors of their products
When going to a product page of a Cotopaxi backpack, you can see that it's available in loads of different color combinations.
In fact, Cotopaxi's employees have complete control over the final look of each backpack in this Del Día collection.
This means that no two backpacks are the same, and it gives customers the feeling they're buying something unique!
A unique method of acquiring customer emails
It's common to see companies giving a small discount code when visitors subscribe to their newsletter.
However, Cotopaxi thought of something much more unique and personal. If a visitor 'joins the herd,' they get a free llama sticker!
Product pages
I think Cotopaxi's product pages look really good:
Here are some things to look at for this product page:
- Product images. Cotopaxi starts by using images with a white background. Then, they also show some images of the product in use.
- Features, but with a focus on benefits. Cotopaxi includes a list of features, but with each feature, they also mention its benefits. Example: "Butterfly-style opening for easy access."
- Reviews. Cotopaxi has a reviews section on each product page highlighting some user experiences of its customers.
Support a good cause
Cotopaxi is committed to giving back to the planet and helping people who are experiencing extreme poverty.
For example, they donate at least 1% of annual revenue to a foundation that strives for a healthier planet:
2. Zpacks
The next online store example is called Zpacks.
It's a great example that your online store doesn't have to be super fancy to be successful, as long as you treat the customer right and sell quality products.
I mean, don't get me wrong. Zpacks' store looks good, but the store design is not the reason why we included it on this list.
Instead, here are some great things about Zpacks:
Ultralight products for hikers
If there's one thing long-distance hikers care a lot about, it's the weight of the products they bring with them.
After all, a little bit of weight adds up to a big difference over a long journey!
This is why Zpacks makes its products as light as possible.
For example, their lightest tent weighs just 13.9 oz or 395 grams! And they even use a carbon fiber frame system in their backpacks to make them ultralight:
Pack lists
Zpacks made a collection of the pack lists of their founder and an employee. This way, the visitors can learn from all of their experiences:
3. Matador
Matador is a Shopify store that focuses on selling one of the most important pieces of equipment for a hiker, bags.
Here are some aspects of the store that turned out really well:
The homepage design
I think this store's homepage design looks really nice.
It starts with a sweeping video of some amazing imagery.
After scrolling down, you will find a clean-looking section with a collection of some of their most popular products, which show a different image when hovering over them:
The product images are high quality, and the color matches the website's design. Great job!
Lots of videos and features on the product page
Matador uses a lot of videos and GIFs on its product pages to show off its products.
After all, it's much easier to capture how a product really looks with a video than with an image!
As you can see, they even designed a handy 'compare products' feature that you can use to compare their items on all their specs. It's really neat!
4. Klymit
Let's continue with the next hiking store example, Klymit!
Just like the other stores, Klymit offers some pretty cool and useful products for outdoors enthusiasts. For example, they sell ultralight sleeping pads, pillows, and even chairs!
Moving on, here are some things to pay extra attention to when looking at this store:
High-quality images
When looking at this store, one thing stands out to me.
It looks like all images that Klymit uses look great. There is no image to be found that is low quality!
You can see it for yourself on Klymit's homepage here.
Products
In my opinion, Klymit is a great place to get inspiration if you are looking for examples of hiking products.
It looks like many products that Klymit sells are actually useful for hikers. For example, hikers can sleep in their Maxfield tents on one of the sleeping pads, and rest on one of the inflatable pillows.
5. Sea to Summit
The last store example I have for you today is Sea to Summit.
This store is created by people who absolutely love hiking adventures.
Here are some things that they are doing exceptionally well:
Social media
Sea to Summit has built a large Instagram page to get free traffic to their store.
On their Instagram page, Sea to Summit is posting images of beautiful hiking scenery, and they have currently built a following of over 130k followers:
Also, take a look at their Pinterest account, which currently gets almost 20k monthly views.
If you're interested in how you can get this many views on Pinterest for your business, I recommend reading this article.
Weight and durability scores
Sea to Summit makes it easier for their customers to pick the right products for them by adding relevant scores next to their product images.
For example, their dry sacks are ranked on weight and durability.
This way, you can easily see that the 'Lightweight Dry Sack' is slightly heavier but more durable compared to the 'Ultra-Sil Dry Sack.'
The list of 6 hiking niche dropshipping product examples
Now that we have passed all online store examples, let's continue with some amazing hiking niche product examples.
To find all of these, I mainly used Sell The Trend. This is a great tool that easily lets you find winning products in minutes. If you're interested in the tool, you can check out our full review of it here.
I'm hoping to give you some inspiration on which kinds of products you could sell with a hiking niche store by showing you a couple of product examples.
I won't go in-depth on why these products are great because they are just examples meant to inspire you.
For those of you who are looking for more product examples, I will also link to a store that is selling that product example.
This way, you can check out that store and find even more hiking product examples!
Remember, you can also do this with the online store examples I've shown you above.
A great way to do product research is to search what your competitors are doing and beat them, so go ahead!
Let’s begin!
1. Outdoor sleeping mattress
The first product example is this outdoor sleeping mattress.
It has got great reviews on AliExpress and is available in multiple colors. It even ships from the US for faster shipping times!
Furthermore, it's very durable, compact, and lightweight.
2. Electrically heated jacket
This is a product for people who love hiking in wintry landscapes but are always cold while doing it; an electrically heated jacket.
Just like the mattress above, it has excellent reviews on AliExpress. Actually, this has even better reviews; 4.9 out of 5 stars!
It's available in different colors and variations and can be set to three temperatures:
- Energy-saving (25 °C)
- Comfort (35 °C)
- Warm (45 °C)
When paired with a 10,000 mAh power bank, it will, on average, last 8 hours!
For an example of a dropshipping store that is selling this product, check out Privy Retreat:
3. Military silicone water bottle
This military water bottle must be amazing for hiking enthusiasts!
Here are some of the benefits it has:
- Large capacity. It can carry more than 0.5 liters of water.
- Attached hook & handle. For easy carrying of the water bottle.
- Built-in compass. Great for emergency situations.
- Compact when empty. The water bottle can be folded in from both sides.
- Lightweight. The water bottle weighs 225 grams.
Want to see an example of a dropshipping store selling this product? Click here!
4. Arm sunscreen cover
This arm cover solves the problem of your arms getting burnt after a whole day of hiking in the sun!
It will be great for hikers that are sensitive to the sun.
Furthermore, people can also use it for other activities such as cycling and canoeing.
It comes in multiple colors, and thanks to the stretchy fabric it is available in just one size. No more handling returns because of wrong clothing sizes!
This is the best example of a dropshipping store selling this product that I was able to find:
5. Waterproof Bluetooth speaker
Who doesn't occasionally enjoy a bit of music when hiking?
With this Bluetooth speaker, hikers will be able to relax and listen to music in the wild for up to 6 hours.
But what if it starts raining?
Well, that's not a problem for this Bluetooth speaker as it is IPX6 waterproof!
Here's a dropshipping store selling the exact same product:
Warning: Before trying to sell these “electronic” products, make sure to verify that they are good quality products to avoid refunds and chargebacks! You can learn more here.
6. First aid kit
When going hiking, it's best to be prepared for anything that may happen.
Someone can take a wrong step and hurt themselves at all times.
This first aid kit is designed for precisely these occasions.
It's compact and has room for items like bandages, a scissor, a lighter, and more.
Curious to see how a dropshipping store is selling this? Then check out this product page:
How do you start an online hiking store in 2024?
Even though many people have the idea of starting their own online niche store, few of them actually follow through.
This is because starting a store can seem intimidating. But here is the thing; it doesn’t have to be!
Online store owners are learning new ways to compete with big online shopping sites every day.
So, if you want to start an online hiking store in 2024, this article will outline seven different tips that will make the process much easier:
How to Start an Online Niche Store in 2024 (7 Tips)
Conclusion
That's it; those were all hiking niche products and online store examples for today.
If you feel like this wasn't enough for you, remember that you can always try to find more inspiration yourself.
To learn how to find other online stores, check out this article.
More interested in more product examples? Then you will find out how to discover more hiking products here.
If you do want to start your own store in the hiking niche, I thought I would mention that all the stores I have shown you in this article are hosted on Shopify.
If you don't have a Shopify store yet, sign up by clicking this link to get a free 3-day trial + pay $1/month for the first 3 months.
Finally, if you have decided that the hiking niche isn't a fit for you after reading the article, I suggest checking out one of these 25 amazing niche ideas.
See you next time!
6 Comments
West Hikers ripped Delta Hiking – they literally copy pasted most -if not all – of their content. Even in one of the product description it has Delta hiking product name! All the content for shipping, product images, product descriptions everything!
Hi there,
Thank you so much for pointing this out to us, it’s a great catch!
After checking the website of West Hikers, it looks like you are right. We definitely missed this!
We want to let you know that we have now removed West Hikers from our list of store examples and have replaced it with a new awesome hiking store example: Empire Hiking.
Thank you again, and have a great rest of your day!
– Patryk
Hello,
I’ve built a Camping & Hiking dropship store. I have not had almost any sales and the marketing is hard. I dont know where the problem lies and i would appreciate ALOT if you could take a look at my website and tell me what you think. Maybe you know why Im not selling.
Best regards Mikael.
Hi Mikael!
I tried to take a look at your store, but it looks like it hasn’t been publically launched yet? It’s asking for a password.
You can always contact us here for more help 😊
– Patryk
hi, i see all the example stores you gave have been closed. those sites are all inaccessible
In another post you said: “Just think about, would anyone still advertise their store, that’s been up for a while if they are not profitable?”
So, did they close the store because there were no sales or profits in this niche?
Hi Tony,
Great question! Unfortunately, I don’t have any insights into the profitability of these example stores. They could have closed down for a variety of reasons. However, it is true that it’s challenging to build a sustainable (long-term profitable) dropshipping store, as you will often have to deal with things like changing trends, competitors copying your store, new opportunities, the challenge of building a community around your product, and more.
Branding your dropshipping store can help to overcome these issues, but they remain a challenge at all times. The owners of these stores may have closed them to focus on potentially more profitable new dropshipping stores or other projects, but that doesn’t mean that the hiking niche is not profitable now! Besides the ‘evergreen’ hiking products that are always in demand, there are also new and trending hiking products which you can try to sell.
I hope this answered your question!
– Patryk