The global sporting goods market contracted last year for the first time since the financial crisis, with market value falling by around 7 percent to around 286 billion euros ($346 billion), although it still outperformed the wider apparel market, according to a new report by McKinsey and the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry.

The study shows that most brands, retailers, and manufacturers finished the year significantly in the red, despite a bounce back in activity between the first and second waves of COVID-19 lockdown. While the pandemic put a big dent in the broader apparel market, sportswear companies were more resilient than the industry overall.

While the so-called athleisure market was a megatrend before COVID-19, the report suggested the pandemic has served to further blur lines between work and free time. There is a rising acceptance of comfortable wear in previously more formal contexts, with more than 75 percent of industry representatives believing the athleisure market size will keep growing, and 33 percent contending that growth accelerated through the pandemic.

Another of the report's key findings was that COVID-19 has triggered significant shifts in physical activity levels. Around 40 percent of people are being less active, while around 30 percent are more so.

These developments are often widening the physical activity gap, with less affluent households exercising less. Statistics indicated that physical inactivity is strongly linked to income, with 46 percent of people with annual income of less than $25,000 deemed physically inactive in 2019, in comparison to 19 percent of groups with incomes above $100,000, a situation exacerbated by COVID-19.

Alexander Thiel, a McKinsey partner who leads Sporting Goods Practice EMEA, said: "COVID-19 brought a number of opportunities to the sporting goods industry with the 30 percent of consumers increasing their exercise habits, many purchasing new sportswear and equipment and becoming more health-conscious.

"However, it has also raised the bar for industry participants with clear attributes needed to enter a virtuous cycle and succeed in 2021."

Store closures related to COVID-19 lifted the online growth curve to a new level, enabling multiple brands to grow e-tailing and even direct-to-consumer sales. As a result, the past year has seen a leap forward in online shopping, with many first-timers expected to stick with their new habits, according to the report.

Robbert de Kock, president of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry, said: "The sporting goods industry has shown its resilience in light of an incredible crisis. Sporting goods industry players have found ways to win in the next normal by reaching consumers through digital channels and achieving both sales and consumer engagement through new or enhanced digital exercise communities."

The coming 12 months are set to be characterized by a more positive outlook, albeit amid uncertainty caused by an unfolding second wave, and the relatively slow ramp-up of vaccination capacity and delivery.

Sporting goods industry executives are cautiously optimistic and focused on growth opportunities, with 64 percent of respondents surveyed expecting better or much better market conditions this year, compared to those last year.

The study pointed out that the biggest challenges this year are seen in supply chain and COVID-related issues. Yet the greatest opportunities, meanwhile, are associated with the potential return of large sports events, including, potentially, the delayed Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the UEFA European Football Championships, and the ongoing rise in popularity of outdoor, home and digital activities, sport and fitness.