"Camping at home" quickly out of the circle camping equipment "hard to find"
The Qingming holiday is a very popular camping market, and the "May 1st" small holiday is still eye-catching.
According to the holiday consumption data released by a number of travel platforms, the search volume and order volume related to camping increased significantly during the "May Day" period.
According to data released by Tongcheng Travel, the popularity of "camping" related travel searches increased by 117% month-on-month.
According to Qunar platform data, the bookings of camping-related products (accommodation, travel) are three times that of 2021, and the sales of park tickets that can be camped have increased by more than 40% year-on-year.
However, in the context of the tightening of the new crown pneumonia epidemic prevention and control policies in many places, camping players in various places have also adjusted their camping plans accordingly.
Pang Lei, a post-90s camper who lives in Beijing, noticed that many campsites in Beijing were temporarily closed due to the epidemic during the "May 1st" period. Even campsites and country parks that can welcome individual tourists are "limited, reserved, and staggered." ” The epidemic prevention and control regulations reduced the number of passengers, and decided to “still not go, you can also simulate the feeling of camping at home, such as directly using a cassette stove or gas tank to cook hot pot, which is more convenient to store than an induction cooker.”
On social platforms, there are also many players who share the experience of "camping at home", whether it is setting up a tent on the balcony, referring to the potted plants on the flower stand as "outdoor scenery", or turning on a camp lamp and using a moka pot. Making a cup of after-dinner coffee, every scene with a sense of camping atmosphere is inseparable from the "cooperation" of several equipment.
It is worth noting that "camping at home" is not an "expedient measure" to deal with the epidemic. The "moving camping" that has emerged since 2020 is intended to "move" home life outdoors.
Compared with traditional camping that emphasizes wildness and convenience, moving camping pays more attention to the scene, atmosphere and ritual of camping. While adding outdoor comfort, it also lays the groundwork for the integration of camping style into daily life and urban business.
Omelet table in living room
At the beginning of 2019, a group of moving camping photos on social platforms refreshed Pang Lei's understanding of camping. "In addition to colorful quick-opening tents, there are so many options for camping equipment."
Soon after, Pang Lei bought a set of black camping equipment, including tents, canopies, and camping tables and chairs.
Pang Lei likes to design unique niche equipment, and is willing to spend time on discovering unique equipment styles.
Campsites, e-commerce platforms, offline stores in the same city, and newly opened outdoor equipment stores in cities on business trips are all channels for Pang Lei to purchase equipment.
In the past two years, Pang Lei has successively "purchased" two tents, two canopies, 6 camping chairs, 4 tables, 3 sets of stoves and cooking utensils and several small accessories, and even his daily clothes have begun to move closer to the outdoor style.
According to different usage scenarios, mobile camping equipment can often be divided into sleep, living room, lighting, storage and other systems, and each system will be subdivided into a variety of equipment.
For example, tents, air mattresses, sleeping bags, pillows, carpets and other equipment can all be classified as sleep systems.
With the deepening of mobile camping, for some players, the line between "home" and "camping" has begun to blur.
"Compared with general furniture, camping equipment is easier to disassemble and move. Many of my friends born in the 1990s will directly use camping equipment such as moon chairs and egg roll tables in their daily lives, so that they can keep 'on the road' at all times. It’s easy to change the style of your home,” said Zhang Yanwei, a camping player and founder of the “OWLET Little Owl” camping store.
According to Liu Tingting, founder of the outdoor lifestyle platform "One Account", the rise of domestic mobile camping means that people have begun to turn their attention to camping itself.
"In the past 20 years, camping has been a supporting application for outdoor sports such as mountaineering and hiking. It is prepared for people to go farther and more deeply in the natural environment to challenge nature. Camping equipment is also mainly practical. Pay attention to safety and convenience. Since 2020, when the campsite itself has become a travel destination, the function of camping equipment will also turn to life and leisure, and it will be easier to integrate into daily life. For example, when camping meetings are held in various places, we found that Guangdong My friends will roast suckling pigs and make fried rice with bacon at the camp at 3 am, so it is impossible for such a life-like scene to appear in the hiking camp." Liu Tingting said.
Behind the "hard to find"
The rapid emergence of moving camping has also brought hot outdoor brands such as Xuefeng, Dabaixiong, Noke, Mugaodi, Heilu, and Huofeng.
"There is a very interesting phenomenon. On the online trading platform, many second-hand camping equipment can be sold at the original price, because there is no stock at all." Pang Lei said.
Liu Tingting also felt the same about the popularity of second-hand equipment, "We have set up a second-hand trading group for friends who have participated in the one account activity. This group has always been very active. Generally speaking, as soon as the transfer information is sent, the equipment will be sold within seconds. No'".
Why is camping gear so sought-after?
An important factor is that many domestic camping equipment manufacturers have limited production capacity and are still unable to meet the strong demand on the consumer side.
Take Vidalido, which was established in 2012 as an example. Vidalido is an outdoor brand in Xiamen integrating R&D, production and sales. It was jointly founded by three principals, Yang Dachun, Lin Canfeng and Zheng Feini.
According to Zheng Feini, before 2020, most of the tents, canopies and other products designed and produced by Vida Lido were sold overseas.
"In 2019, there were more than 80 employees. At that time, the domestic market did not have much interest in recreational-style camping products. It was not until the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic that the domestic demand for camping products increased significantly, coupled with the sharp drop in export orders. , our main focus has shifted back to China, and we are expanding our product line every year, and this year, the number of employees has also increased to more than 200." Zheng Feini said.
Despite this, there are still a lot of "out of stock" and "off the shelf" products in Vidalido's online store.
"For some products that are still on the shelves, consumers place orders this month and will not be able to deliver them until next month. It is still a little difficult for our production capacity to keep up with consumer demand," said Zheng Feini.
In Liu Tingting's view, many outdoor brands are currently facing a dilemma, "Now that camping is hot, if the brand does not increase production capacity, it will miss a wave of bonus periods in vain; but if it increases labor and develops new factories for orders, once In the future, the demand for camping will decrease, and the previous investment and inventory pressure will bring new problems.”
Experience Prerequisites: Camping "strongholds" in cities
Individual consumers, campsites and camping equipment experience stores are the main customers of Vidalido in China in the past two years, which also made Zheng Feini pay attention to the offline experience store format. The only way is the specialty store route. Clothing and equipment are piled everywhere, and the atmosphere is not strong. After the rise of mobile camping in 2020, outdoor equipment stores have gradually increased, and more attention has been paid to the creation of camping scenes in store layout and product display. ".
Walking into the OWLET camping store located in Beijing's 798 Art District, in a space of 70 square meters, you can see a camping and dining scene consisting of egg roll tables, folding chairs, and outdoor stoves and cooking utensils.
"In a relatively complete scene, guests can better understand what they need. At present, camping tables and chairs are the best-selling items in the store, and it has nothing to do with the experience." Zhang Yanwei said.
Just after the Qingming holiday in 2022, at the junction of Jiangfu Park and Langyuan Station in Beijing, photographer Zhou Shuxin and two friends he met while camping opened a new outdoor collection store.
In order to simulate the outdoor environment of camping, in addition to arranging green plant decorations in the indoor scene area, they also asked people to spread a thick layer of gravel on the ground in the outdoor area.
"In the future, we plan to launch a hand-brewed coffee package. With our assistance, customers can use a camping electric stove and a moka pot to make a cup of coffee. The same equipment can also be purchased in the store." Zhou Shuxin said.
In addition to scene marketing, the various designs of camping equipment stores are also convenient for holding various offline camping activities.
For example, since its establishment in November 2020, OWLET Little Owl Camping Store has held activities such as second-hand markets, coffee tasting, new product launches and camping experience sharing sessions.
Due to the relatively shallow and narrow space of the existing store, OWLET has rented a store with an area of 150 square meters separated by an aisle, and plans to carry out more camping-related activities; Prepared for camping-themed events.
"The equipment store is like a camping 'stronghold' embedded in the city, which not only provides a camping experience, but also provides a physical space for friends who love camping." Zhou Shuxin said.
It is worth noting that, with the increasing popularity of camping, the various explorations of camping equipment offline experience stores are also a microcosm of the development process of urban camping.
In the densely populated business districts and cultural and creative parks in the city, cafes and pop-up stores with camping topics have become new social concerns for young people.
City camp is a business launched by Liu Tingting's entrepreneurial team. In her opinion, camping has become the "marketing password" for business circles and brands. "Many brands and shopping centers have found us and hope to include camping elements in promotional activities. The city camp we do is very similar to the camping-themed city market, which provides consumers with a channel to directly understand the camping lifestyle, but whether this part of the customer group can settle down will only be known after they have truly experienced camp life. ".
Put an end to "savage growth"
During the "May Day" holiday, two events of "One Account" in Beijing were postponed due to the epidemic.
"The uncertainty brought about by the epidemic has indeed affected our income. In the past year or two, we have held dozens of camping events across the country, and most of the income came from offline. This year, there are fewer offline activities, and the income will naturally decrease. , we are still an asset-light business, and those with more physical investment may encounter more problems." Liu Tingting said.
Zhou Shuxin once calculated an account, plus the rent of the previous months, the Yepai Outdoor Collection Store has invested more than 1.3 million yuan from the decoration to the opening.
"We have only opened for less than a month. During the 'May Day' holiday this year, we originally planned to operate it well. Now affected by the epidemic, we can only close the store first and wait for further news." Zhou Shuxin said.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the camping industry has embarked on the fast track of development, but the industry characteristics of "depending on the sky" and the brutal growth of the market during the outbreak have also caused some chaos in the field of camping equipment.
For example, due to the popularity of the topic and the effect of "moving camping", under the momentum of some social media, it breeds the soil of excessive comparison.
"Nowadays, I often hear the so-called 'chain of contempt' for equipment. In fact, the real senior players take the equipment lightly. Tens of thousands of tents and a few yuan of wind ropes are all tools to express their own style. Why do you need to distinguish between the top and the bottom? I have also encountered the kind of parents who spend money to buy equipment for their children in order to stand out in school activities, this kind of ethos is really unacceptable." Pang Lei said.
Zheng Feini found that an "Indian Pyramid Automatic Account" launched by her company can find many imitations on the e-commerce platform.
"We spent two years developing new products, and some foundries have imitated imitations in a few months. The quality is not high, but the price is much lower than ours. After such products are put on the shelves, it will bring us a great deal. Troubled. We have reported this situation to the platform, but many merchants have affixed their own brand labels on the products after purchasing from the foundry, and the platform cannot identify them. 10 complaints are often only successful. We have to contact Lawyers have come to deal with this issue, but the legal process has been lengthy and there has been no result so far." Zheng Feini said.
Li Xuan, a trainee reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily Source: China Youth Daily