Women’s outdoor activity participation continues to rise, according to a Winnebago Industries Spotlight Survey. The survey focused on women for the first time.
The survey reported 52% of women planned to increase their outdoor activity this year, with more than half spending six or more hours outside each week.
Although survey questions asked about participants’ interest in spending time outdoors, Winnebago Industries Chief Marketing Officer Amber Holm said the RV industry has plenty to extrapolate.
“We talked specifically about which activities they participate in outdoors, and three of the top five were water-based. Camping and enjoying a campfire were the other two in the top five,” Holm said. “Specific to RVing, about 15% of the group said they plan to RV. So, we can see an increase in RV interest. That wasn’t with RV owners or even prospective buyers, it was just among the group of women overall.”
Holm said previous research showed safety is women’s biggest concern about outdoor activity. According to the survey, other concerns include sacrificing outdoor time due to family members who are not interested and a lack of outdoor activity experience.
“Community, safety and education are critical factors in the enjoyment of outdoor recreation,” Holm said. “As an outdoor industry, it is time for us to unite and ensure that every woman feels welcome, safe and empowered in the outdoors. By breaking down barriers and building inclusive spaces, we can create a future where women not only participate—but lead—in shaping the outdoor experience for generations to come.”
For RV dealers, Holm said recognizing women as buyers and purchase influencers is more important than ever.
“We have definitely seen that women are not always welcomed into dealerships as a buyer,” Holm said.
She said despite her own status as an RVer and industry executive, she has experienced treatment different from her husband’s at trade shows and dealerships.
“Women were not always taken seriously as buyers,” she said. “I think for us as an industry, we need to understand some of those barriers that exist for women to enter the category. If we can, that helps us think about how we can attract more women buyers in the future.”
As more women become the primary decision makers for recreational purchases, Holm said attracting more women can significantly increase dealers’ buyer pool. She said the task is to make women feel welcome throughout the process.
According to the survey, 18% would spend more time outdoors if they felt safer or had more guidance.
Winnebago Industries has developed initiatives to appeal to women buyers.
A meetup for solo female RVers was held at a recent Winnebago rally in Iowa. Newmar has hosted drive-and-learn events targeted to women new to RVing.
Winnebago is working with Stef Adinaro of TheFitRV.com to provide inspiration. Adinaro said it was her idea to buy an RV to avoid porta-potty lines at the endurance events she competed in with her husband, James.
Holm, whose family owns a 33-foot Winnebago Sunstar motorohome, said she wants to see more women participate in the activities she enjoys.
“Gas station employees and other campers were shocked when they saw I was the driver,” she said of a 225-mile trip her family made to Minnesota’s Lake Vermilion. “I am eager to empower more women to enjoy the great outdoors with Grand Design, Newmar or Winnebago RV.”
The survey was conducted in the spring with a sample size of 1,000 United States-based females, aged 18 and up.
