This report looks at the following areas:
- What are the most popular sports this year, and which ones have more potential?
- Everyone is exercising, but who are the true sports players and who are the general crowd?
- What can brands do regarding different types of sports players?
The nationwide enthusiasm for sports keeps growing; sports suitable for everyday life, outdoor settings and group participation are increasingly popular. Consumers can be grouped into four personas by their demands and levels of interest. Brands can align with their motivations and levels of engagement through lifestyle appeal, novelty and identity.
Anita Li, Senior Research Analyst – Consumer Trends and Lifestyle, China
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
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The big picture
- The nationwide sports enthusiasm continues to grow
- Comprehensive policies support the high-quality development of the sports industry
- Top events across sports disciplines further expand public participation
- Jiangsu Football City League catches on: a new paradigm of integrating sports, culture, travel and commerce
- Three steps in transforming sports culture communication: humanise sports stars, elevate sportswear into fashion and strengthen sports IP influence
- The evolution of health in the fitness movement: moving past the absence of illness to holistic wellbeing and vitality
- Graph 1: key factors driving consumer behaviours around wellbeing (agree), 2024-25
- The meaning of sports shifts from competition to daily self-cultivation
- Graph 2: motivations to stay engaged in sports, 2025
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The consumer
- Participation in sports activities
- Core appeal of popular sports: easy to integrate into daily life, open-air settings and the opportunity to play together
- Graph 3: sports participation rate, 2025
- City walking and power walking capture youthful interest: a popular option for 30s to explore the city and cultivate a sense of belonging
- Graph 4: frequency of participation in sports – city walking/power walking (13 times or more per year), by age/monthly personal income, 2025
- Graph 5: attitude towards identity, by age, 2024-25
- Table tennis is gaining popularity among the youth, and strength training is highly favoured by men aged 18-29
- Graph 6: sports participation rate, 2023-25
- Graph 7: participation rate in sports (table tennis), by age, 2024/2025
- The creativity of the younger generation injects new vitality into table tennis, breaking traditional boundaries
- The overall participation rate in outdoor sports has stabilised, with cycling and water sports experiencing slight growth
- Graph 8: sports participation rate, 2025
- Graph 9: sports participation rate, 2022-24
- Frequency x breadth dual-dimensional analysis: four types of typical sports player personas
- Dedicated players make up over half the players, with active and engaged participants and curious explorers carrying growth potential
- Graph 10: type of sports participants, 2025
- Profile and preferences of the core group (dedicated players)
- High-income women over 30 in lower tier cities are the backbone of dedicated sports players
- Graph 11: dedicated players, by gender x monthly personal income and gender x city tier, 2025
- Graph 12: dedicated players, by age and gender x age, 2025
- Dedicated players persist in exercising to become a better version of themselves
- Graph 13: motivation to stay engaged in sports, by type of sports participants, 2025
- The rise of power in women over 30: exercising is not just for slimming down, but also for becoming stronger
- Graph 14: motivation to stay engaged in sports, by dedicated players x gender x age, 2025
- Defying the homogenous ‘fair, youthful, and slim’ aesthetic, strength has become the new trend
- Sport experience preferences of avid and committed players: clear progression paths + versatile challenges
- Graph 15: high-frequency activities for dedicated players, 2025
- A spot in a marathon is hard to obtain; the demographics of participants are rapidly diversifying
- Everyone can form a team, and dedicated players prefer community activities with a strong identity association
- Graph 16: participation in offline community activities, by type of sports participants, 2025
- Profile and preferences of the potential groups (active and engaged participants and curious explorers)
- The potential groups are diversely distributed: prioritise driving high-growth younger groups and use lifestyle scenarios to mobilise the 40+
- Graph 17: types of sports participants, by age, 2025
- Potential groups value health management, but the curious explorers prefer pleasurable wellness
- Graph 18: changes of health management behaviour (more), by type of sports participants, 2025
- Exercise motivation for potential groups: start with improvement of the mind and the body, and enthusiasm is enhanced by social interaction and skill learning
- Graph 19: motivation to stay engaged in sports, by type of sports participants, 2025
- Lifestyle appeal over athleticism; hiking captures casual dabblers; curious explorers’ breadth stems from curiosity
- Graph 20: participation rate of sports activities, by type of sports participants, 2025
- From spectating to participating: sports expand into aesthetic, content and cultural dimensions
- Graph 21: sports-related leisure activities of interest, by type of sports participants, 2025
- Priority of sports and leisure activities: widest reach for outdoor exploration, highest incremental growth for social companionship
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Issues and Insights
- Branding
- Harness lifestyle appeal as a hook and make exercise feel as natural as breathing
- Affordable, attractive and foolproof: unlocking hassle-free entry to sports equipment
- Premium weight loss camps: turn body management experiences into holidays
- Redefine sports: light moves to recharge anytime
- Attract users with novelty and encourage continuity and expansion through fun and interactivity
- Set the trend with thoughtful co-creations with celebrities and cross-circle collaborations
- Professionalism overflows into everyday life: Montbell has become a popular choice for middle-class commuting outfits
- A shift in outdoor leisure preferences: from refined pseudo-relaxation to authentic hands-on engagement with the outdoor scene
- Graph 22: interest in authentic outdoor activities, 2025
- Hiking and tasting: mitigate the burden of physical training, amplify natural exploration that awakens the senses
- The Kolon Sport Community triples the value: attract a broad audience, spark the desire to try new sports and promote the co-creation of products
- Exercise should be enjoyed together by people and pets: pets are becoming exercise companions for more people
- #ExerciseHacks: share unconventional tips to enhance the joy of exercise
- Kappa shows that you can live life to the fullest even with ‘short-lived passions’
- Adidas celebrates authentic passion over competition with stories of ordinary people
- Retain users with a sense of identity and spark passion with belonging and breakthroughs
- Core product demand of avid players: to support performance and sustain habits
- Leverage local sports communities to achieve cost-effective precise marketing
- From people to stores and then to hearts, Arc’teryx systematically builds its professional identity
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What we think
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Appendix: methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
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