Southwick Report

Ammunition consumers indicate that demand will remain strong well into 2021. According to Southwick Associate's ongoing shooting sports consumer market research, multiple reasons are driving the continued unparalleled demand.

In April 2021, Southwick Associates surveyed more than 1,800 ammunition consumers as part of its quarterly HunterSurvey/ShooterSurvey tracking study. In 2020, four out of five consumers encountered out of stock issues while trying to purchase ammunition, while three-quarters encountered out of stock situations so far in 2021. Of these respondents, 79% reported either fully or partially reducing their target shooting and hunting outings as a result of depleted ammunition shelves.

Going forward, ammunition demand is expected to remain high. Nearly two-thirds of ammunition consumers report their current ammunition inventory was lower than they would prefer. When asked how much more ammunition they would like to have on hand, 43% reported “much more” while 38% reported “a little more.” Only 17% were satisfied with the amounts they currently had on hand.

When asked why they desire more ammunition, key reasons included:

• Uncertainty about future ammunition supplies (72%). This is especially true among consumers 45+ years of age.
• Uncertainty about future restrictions on ammunition purchases (70%).
• Uncertainty about future economic conditions (54%).
• Increased shooting and hunting activity (26%). This was more common among the 25-34 year-old consumers.

“At some point, demand will certainly soften,” reports Rob Southwick, President of Southwick Associates. “However, frenzied purchasing and empty shelves often fuels further increases in demand. We do not see demand softening in the near future.”