Backpack Statistics [2024]: Consumer, Product & Growth Data

Key Backpack Statistics

• From 2010 to 2019, US backpack gross sales elevated over 170%.
• The worldwide backpack market was valued at $15.9 billion in 2022 and is predicted to develop to $31.38 billion by 2030.
• VF, the mother or father firm that owns JanSport and The North Face accounts for over 55% of backpack gross sales within the US.
• The typical carry-on backpack has 38.8 L of quantity, weighs 3.4 lbs, and prices $237.00.
• The typical on a regular basis backpack has 22.2 L of quantity, weighs 2.5 lbs, and prices $199.84.
• The typical climbing daypack has 22.4 L of quantity, weighs 1.5 lbs, and prices $145.58.
• The typical multiday climbing backpack has 51.9 L of quantity, weighs 4.5 lbs, and prices $289.81.
• The commonest materials for journey and on a regular basis backpacks is midweight woven nylon or polyester.
• The commonest materials for climbing and outside backpacks is ripstop nylon.

Backpack Market Statistics

Within the US and globally, the backpack market has seen super progress over the previous a long time. Extra persons are counting on backpacks for his or her each day lives and for recreation, and that’s driving up backpack gross sales and incentivizing corporations to take a position extra in again design and innovation.

Listed below are the important thing statistics for understanding the backpack market.

US Backpack Retail Gross sales Over Time

The US has the biggest marketplace for backpacks worldwide, and regardless of setbacks attributable to COVID-19, that market is continuous to develop steadily.

The chart and desk beneath present the whole retail gross sales for backpacks within the US from 2010 to 2021.

The information above reveals an incredible progress charge within the US backpack market. From 2010 to 2019, US backpack gross sales elevated by over 170%.

Unsurprisingly, there was a significant drop in backpack gross sales throughout 2020 as COVID-19 put a halt to journey and shut down faculties. By 2021, US backpack gross sales have been already again to 76% of the pre-COVID excessive, and that development is just anticipated to proceed as increasingly more individuals within the US are touring or getting exterior.

International Backpack Market Measurement Forecast

In 2022, the worldwide backpack was valued at $15.9 Billion, based on Statista.

The desk beneath reveals the forecasted progress of the backpack market worldwide, from 2022 to 2030.

Clearly, the backpack trade is poised for enormous progress over the subsequent a number of years. This may be attributed to a number of components:

• As journey tourism and outside actions turn into more and more in style within the US and across the globe, individuals want specialised backpacks designed for climbing, tenting, biking, snowboarding, mountaineering, and extra.
• 50 years in the past, if you happen to have been headed into the workplace, you carried a briefcase. Right this moment, as workplaces turn into extra informal and fewer structured, backpacks are rapidly changing into the norm. Extra manufacturers are creating professional-looking laptop backpacks that slot in completely with the trendy office.
• COVID-19 launched the world to distant work on an enormous scale, and extra individuals than ever are selecting “digital nomad” existence. A carry-on backpack is the proper device for touring the globe whereas staying related to the grid.

International Backpack Google Search Curiosity by Month

The backpack market is extremely seasonal. Distinct seasonal developments are obvious in each retail gross sales and web search quantity.

The desk beneath reveals worldwide Google Trends search curiosity within the time period “backpack” by month from January 2021 to December 2023.

Within the chart above, there’s a distinct spike in Google search curiosity for backpacks each July-August. Throughout this spike, searches for the time period “backpack” jumps to over 170% of regular.

Whereas puzzling at first, there’s a quite simple rationalization for this seasonal spike: again to highschool.

It’s true that increasingly more persons are shopping for backpacks for work, journey, and outside actions, however there’s no denying that college students are the biggest marketplace for backpacks. From Kindergarten by faculty, college students are those utilizing a backpack all day, daily.

That isn’t prone to change anytime quickly.

After all, the back-to-school development doesn’t maintain for climbing or journey backpacks. These usually tend to be bought in spring (initially of journey and climbing seasons) or nearer to the tip of the 12 months across the holidays and Black Friday.

Backpack Model Statistics

As extra persons are shopping for backpacks for quite a lot of makes use of, the trade is changing into extra aggressive, with manufacturers vying for market share.

A number of manufacturers, like JanSport, have turn into family names, however many smaller startups are starting to make critical inroads available in the market.

Listed below are the important thing backpack model statistics from our analysis.

High Backpack Manufacturers by Google Search Quantity

One technique to examine the highest backpack manufacturers is by search quantity. Whereas this isn’t an ideal metric for income or variety of backpacks offered, it’s an correct technique to gauge the curiosity and model consciousness in a selected model.

I did in-depth Google search evaluation to search out the manufacturers with the very best search quantity on Google. As a result of most of the manufacturers promote extra merchandise than simply backpacks (like Nike, for whom backpacks are merely an adjunct product), I used search phrases that embrace the phrase “backpack” or “backpacks” (whichever ranked larger).

The desk beneath reveals the highest 20 backpack manufacturers rated by Google search quantity.

Apparently, of the highest 10 manufacturers by search quantity, solely 3 specialize particularly in backpacks. Most of the high manufacturers are attire corporations which have constructed out backpack product traces (Nike, Lululemon, and Adidas).

Inside this high 20 checklist, there may be a variety of journey, city, and outside manufacturers.

The undisputed chief of the pack is JanSport, which has greater than double the search quantity of Nike backpacks in second place. This is smart if you happen to’ve spent a lot time in a faculty or faculty campus and paid consideration to the backpack manufacturers. That little JanSport patch is all over the place.

High Backpack Manufacturers by Class

Backpacks could be divided into three broad classes: on a regular basis backpacks (which incorporates faculty, laptop computer, and commuting luggage), journey backpacks, and outside backpacks. The desk beneath reveals the 5 hottest manufacturers in every class.

Notice that The North Face seems in each the on a regular basis and outside backpack lists. Whereas The North Face initially began as an outside gear firm, it has broadened its product vary to incorporate quite a lot of each day carry backpacks for varsity, commuting, journey, and laptop computer carry. This introduced the model extra into the mainstream.

It’s additionally price noticing that JanSport and The North Face are each owned by the identical mother or father firm: VF, which additionally controls Timberland and Eastpak. Between its diversified manufacturers, VF accounts for 55% of backpack gross sales within the US, according to the New York Times.

Backpack Model Manufacturing facility Places

I analyzed 82 of the world’s hottest backpack manufacturers to search out their manufacturing facility places and see how backpack manufacturing is distributed across the globe. Some manufacturers personal a single manufacturing facility and carry out all product meeting underneath one roof. Others contract out to dozens and even a whole bunch of factories world wide to make their merchandise.

The chart beneath reveals the proportion of manufacturers that depend on factories in every area.

Unsurprisingly, Asia has the very best focus of backpack manufacturing by far, with 82.9% of manufacturers utilizing manufacturing services in Asian international locations. China, Vietnam, and the Philippines account for almost all of backpack manufacturing in Asia.

28% of manufacturers have some manufacturing in america, whereas solely 9.8% manufacture solely within the US. For a lot of of those manufacturers (like GORUCK and Hyperlite Mountain Gear), “made within the USA” is certainly one of their main advertising and marketing claims.

Travel backpacks embrace packs which might be designed to hold clothes and kit on journeys by aircraft, prepare, bus, and automobile. Whereas some journey backpacks are designed with comfy harnesses for trekking, in addition they concentrate on options optimized for extra city journey.

Journey backpacks are used to exchange extra conventional baggage and are bigger than daypacks. Whereas many individuals use daypacks throughout journey, it’s usually along with a bigger bag.

Journey backpacks vary from slim 30L personal-item-size luggage to cavernous packs you’d must verify on a flight. As a result of our dataset has a low variety of checked luggage-sized journey backpacks, I targeted this evaluation on carry-on backpacks, that are way more widespread.

Carry-On Journey Backpack Quantity

The overall consensus is {that a} journey backpack will need to have over 30 L of quantity. Lower than that, and it’s a daypack.

The typical carry-on backpack quantity is 38.8 L, and 68% of carry-on backpacks are between 33.6 L and 44.0 L. The truth that the median is larger than the common signifies that journey backpack quantity is barely left-skewed, which means that there’s a excessive focus of backpacks barely above the common weight. This is smart since 40L is a reasonably commonplace carry-on backpack dimension.

At TravelFreak, we typically advocate 35-45L as dimension vary for a carry-on backpack for most individuals. These information outcomes present that backpack producers additionally observe an analogous guideline.

Carry-On Journey Backpack Weight

Backpack weight can also be an necessary issue when shopping for a journey pack. Heavier luggage are extra tiring to hold and make it tougher to remain underneath weight restrictions. That mentioned, we expect consolation and sturdiness are extra necessary than weight.

Our information reveals that the common carry-on journey backpack weight is 3.5 lbs and that 68% of journey backpacks are between 2.7 lbs and 4.1 lbs.

Carry-On Journey Backpack Costs

Journey backpacks are costlier than most backpack classes at $237.00 on common. This larger value is smart as a result of carry-on backpacks are competing within the baggage market greater than different sorts of backpacks.

Carry-On Journey Backpack Supplies

Carry-on backpacks are made from a variety of supplies, from easy ripstop nylon to laminated sailcloth materials. A majority of carry-on backpacks are made with medium weight (400D-800D nylon or polyester). These supplies are broadly obtainable and steadiness sturdiness, weight, and ease of producing.

On a regular basis Backpack Statistics

On a regular basis backpacks are daypacks which might be designed for commuting, work, faculty, and some other day-to-day actions. Many on a regular basis luggage are designed primarily as laptop backpacks, as that could be a commonplace requirement within the trendy world.

On a regular basis Backpack Quantity

The overwhelming majority of on a regular basis luggage have lower than 30 L of quantity. Any greater than that’s beginning to encroach into journey backpack territory.

The typical on a regular basis backpack quantity is 22.2 L, and 68% of on a regular basis backpacks are between 16.0 L and 27.6 L.

On a regular basis Backpack Weight

Most individuals don’t pay a lot consideration to weight when selecting an on a regular basis backpack. Only a few on a regular basis luggage are overly heavy. Design and options are extra necessary for on a regular basis use than low weight.

The typical weight for on a regular basis backpacks is sort of a full pound lighter than journey backpacks: 2.5 lbs. That is primarily as a result of smaller dimension, however on a regular basis backpacks additionally typically use lighter supplies and have much less construction and padding since they gained’t be carrying as a lot weight.

On a regular basis Backpack Costs

On a regular basis backpacks are considerably cheaper than journey backpacks, with a median value of $199.84 and a median value of $199.00. 68% of on a regular basis packs are priced between $110.55 and $281.03. The costliest daypack in our database is the Mission Workshop Rhake, which prices $545 within the X-Pac model.

On a regular basis Backpack Supplies

Like journey backpacks, on a regular basis backpacks are most frequently constructed from mid-weight nylon. There are additionally extra on a regular basis backpacks comprised of nylon or polyester with a thick TPU or PVC coating, which provides spectacular water resistance and energy.

Climbing & Out of doors Backpack Statistics

Hiking and outdoor backpacks are technical items of drugs which might be designed to carry out throughout a variety of out of doors actions together with climbing, working, backpacking, snowboarding, biking, and extra. These packs are sometimes very specialised to a particular use case and vary from ultralight vest packs for path working to huge gear haulers for multi week excursions within the backcountry.

Climbing & Out of doors Backpack Quantity

Since they’re designed for therefore many various use circumstances, outside backpacks are available an enormous vary of volumes. It makes extra sense to divide outside backpacks into two subcategories: daypacks and multi day packs.

Daypacks have a median of twenty-two.6 L of quantity, whereas multi-day backpacks are usually greater than twice the dimensions, with a median of 51.9 L of quantity.

Climbing & Out of doors Backpack Weight

Weight is a precedence within the design of out of doors backpacks, which are sometimes worn all day underneath demanding circumstances. Many individuals search for the lightest pack potential that doesn’t compromise primary capabilities.

Out of doors daypacks are usually the lightest of any backpack class. The typical outside daypack weight is 1.5 lbs—that’s over a full pound lighter than on a regular basis daypacks. Climbing daypacks are designed to be minimal and streamlined and normally don’t have options like padded laptop computer sleeves or a great deal of group pockets.

Due to their dimension, multi-day packs are considerably heavier—4.5 lbs on common. Nonetheless, there may be a complete area of interest of “ultralight” backpacking backs, that are underneath 2.5 lbs all the way in which right down to a mere 14 oz. For instance, the Z-Packs Arc Haul Ultra is a full-featured 50 L backpack that weighs a scant 1.3 lbs.

Climbing & Out of doors Backpack Costs

Out of doors backpacks additionally differ broadly in value. Due to their simplicity, climbing daypacks are the least costly class we analyzed, with a median value of $145.58. On the opposite finish of the spectrum, multi-day packs are the most costly.

Climbing & Out of doors Backpack Supplies

Climbing and outside backpacks are extra uniform within the supplies used than some other class. The overwhelming majority use some type of ripstop nylon. The primary purpose for that is weight: ripstop nylon could be extremely light-weight whereas sustaining good sturdiness.

Some technical outside backpacks additionally incorporate extra superior supplies like HMWPE (often known as Dyneema), which is stronger than metal and provides spectacular sturdiness. These luggage include a value penalty, although.

Backpack Statistics by Area

Backpack use and curiosity aren’t uniform across the globe. In some areas, backpacks are seen as each day requirements, whereas in different areas, they’re pointless luxuries.

Listed below are crucial regional backpack statistics.

Google Search Curiosity in Backpacks by Area

Breaking down Google search quantity for backpacks by area is an fascinating technique to examine the curiosity in backpacks between areas. This isn’t an ideal metric, but it surely reveals how a lot persons are trying to find backpacks on-line.

Utilizing Google Trends, I ranked the international locations with the very best and lowest search curiosity for the time period “backpack” in 2023.

Google charges search curiosity as a proportion of all searches. The area with the very best search curiosity will get a rating of 100, and each different area’s rating is a proportion of that (a rating of fifty means half the search curiosity of the very best rating). I excluded areas with low search quantity for this examine; that leaves 58 areas to contemplate.

The desk beneath reveals the ten areas with the very best search curiosity for the time period “backpack.”

The desk beneath reveals the ten areas with the bottom search curiosity for the time period “backpack.”

The broad development within the tables above is that extra prosperous international locations have larger search curiosity in backpacks whereas creating international locations have decrease curiosity. This clearly isn’t a tough and quick rule, although. Jamaica is a less-developed nation that ranks fifth for probably the most backpack search curiosity. Japan and France are each very prosperous, developed international locations that rank within the lowest 10.

The general development is smart, as individuals in wealthier international locations have larger client spending total and spend extra on backpacks. Nonetheless, there is no such thing as a clear rationalization for the exceptions. Why does Jamaica have a excessive curiosity in backpacks whereas Japan doesn’t? This query requires additional analysis.

Google Search Curiosity in Backpacks by State

There may be additionally important variance in curiosity in backpacks by state inside the US. The map and desk beneath present the rating of the 50 states by backpack search curiosity.

The Western US states have larger total search curiosity in backpacks than the remainder of the nation, whereas the Midwest Area has the bottom curiosity.

Additionally it is notable that within the high 10 states for backpack search curiosity, there are a number of states which might be well-known for outside recreation: California, Hawaii, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Oregon.

It additionally is smart that there’s a excessive focus of backpack and outside gear corporations with headquarters in these states. Areas like Boulder, Portland, and Salt Lake Metropolis are hotspots for outside gear design.

Sources and Methodology

The information used on this report is split into three classes: market information, search information, and product information.

The market information consists of annual gross sales, international market dimension, and market progress forecasts. I collected this information from a number of sources, together with Statista, IndustryArc, and The New York Times. I mixed these particular person information factors and units to get a extra full image of the worldwide backpack market.

Search information was collected utilizing Google Trends. I used this device to gather Google search statistics for the 2023 calendar 12 months. I analyzed search outcomes for the search time period “backpack” and segmented out searches by nation, state, and month. These search outcomes function a proxy for public curiosity in backpacks, and are helpful for measuring developments geographically or over time.

To gather product information, I used TravelFreak’s backpack score database, which shops the metrics we use for reviewing and scoring backpacks. We retailer 44 distinct information factors for each backpack in our database, which provides a wealth of data to attract from. The main points in our product database come from our a long time of in-depth analysis and testing.

I used this information to extract averages and statistical distributions for weight, quantity, MSRP, and supplies used throughout the totally different backpack classes.

Changelog

We periodically evaluate this report, verify for errors or inconsistencies, and replace it with the latest information. Right here is the change historical past for this report.

• February 26, 2024—first revealed