Top Activity & Hobby Trends (September 2023)
Here are the current activity & hobby trends of 2023 and 2024, found using our software tool and selected based on their growth and global popularity across sites like Google, TikTok, Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, Amazon, and more. These are not fads, such as new movies or social media challenges – rather they’re long-term global activity & hobby trends that are likely to see continued growth throughout 2023 and into 2024. We’ve also included our analysis on these new emerging trends below.
Immersive Gamebox
An Immersive Gamebox is a physical space that is designed for group or family immersive gaming experiences. The space is typically filled with props, set pieces, surround sound, vibration pads, and lighting to create an environment that is completely immersive for the player. … Read more
Candlelight Concert
A candlelight concert is a type of concert where the performers and audience are illuminated by candlelight. The concerts are often held in churches or other historical buildings and are meant to be a more intimate experience than a traditional concert. … Read more
Pickleball
Pickleball is a sport that is a combination of tennis, badminton, and ping pong. The game is played with a paddle and a ball that is about the size of a golf ball. The object of the game is to hit the ball over the net and into the other player’s court. … Read more
Puttery
Puttery is a hospitality company that offers an immersive experience for the game of putting (mini-golf) as well as craft cocktails, signature dishes, and DJ nights. The mini-golf courses feature unique themes such as library and lodge. … Read more
Splatter Room
A splatter room is a room that is designed to be used as a safe area to splatter paint or other liquids. The room is typically equipped with a floor drain, a ventilation system, and protective clothing and equipment for the user. … Read more
Rage Room
A rage room is a room where people can go to release their anger by destroying objects. The rooms often provide tools such as bats, sledgehammers, and crowbars to break objects such as TVs, plates, and furniture. … Read more
Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy is a form of therapy that focuses on the body and its sensations. The therapist works to help the client become aware of and understand their body’s sensations and how they are related to their thoughts and emotions. … Read more
Bar Battle
A bar battle is a competition in which bar customers compete in different types of games and contests at the bar. Bar battles are popular during special events like birthdays, corporate social events, hen or stag parties. … Read more
Fine Line Tattoo
Fine line tattoos are tattoos that use very thin lines to create intricate designs. The tattoos are often delicate and can be difficult to execute, making them a popular choice for more experienced tattoo artists. … Read more
FATMAP
FATMAP is a website and app that provides users with a 3D outdoor map and information on the best places to cycle, hike, ski, run, or have an outdoor adventure all over the world. The map-based app includes detailed information on routes, including elevation profiles, bike paths, street views, and more. … Read more
Rug Tufting
Rug tufting is the process of attaching yarn or other fibers to a backing material to create a rug. Tufting can be done by hand or machine, and can be done in a variety of patterns. … Read more
Breathwork
Breathwork is a type of therapy that uses controlled breathing exercises to promote physical and emotional health. The exercises are said to help release trauma, clear the mind, and increase energy. … Read more
Immersive Art
Immersive art is a type of art that is designed to immerse the viewer into the artwork. The art often uses multimedia elements, such as sound, light, and motion, to create a fully immersive experience. … Read more
Psychedelic Therapy
Psychedelic therapy is a type of therapy that uses psychedelic drugs to treat mental health conditions. The drugs are said to help patients to explore their thoughts and feelings, and to help them to understand their condition. … Read more
Sketch Drawing
Sketch drawing is the process of drawing an image by hand with a pencil or pen. The artist may use light and dark shading to create a realistic image, or may use simple lines to create a more abstract image. … Read more
Playtomic
Playtomic is a platform that connects racket sports (tennis, padel, etc.) players with each other, create matches or tournaments, and book nearby sports clubs. The platform also allows players to track their performance like games played, won, or lost and other statistics like best winning streak and comparisons with other players. … Read more
English Calligraphy
English calligraphy is the art of writing in a beautiful and decorative style. The letters are often written in a flowing and elegant manner, making it a popular form of lettering for wedding invitations, menus, and other special occasions. … Read more
Wing Foiling
Wing foiling is a water sport that involves using a wing-shaped foil to ride the waves. The foil catches the waves and allows the rider to glide across the surface. … Read more
Map Drawing
Map drawing is the process of creating a map, usually of a specific area. The map can be used for a variety of purposes, such as art, navigation, planning, or simply remembering a place. … Read more
Birdies Golf
Birdies golf is a social golf game where players attempt to hit a golf ball into a hole in as few strokes as possible. The game can be played with up to four players, and can be played on a variety of different courses typically designed for indoor play. … Read more
Padel Tennis
Padel tennis is a sport that is a combination of tennis and squash. The game is played on a court that is about one-fourth the size of a tennis court, and the ball is served underhand. Padel tennis is popular in Europe and South America and is gaining popularity in the United States. … Read more
Character Drawing
Character drawing is the process of drawing a character for use in a graphic novel, comic book, animation, illustration, or other visual story. The process often starts with a rough sketch, which is then refined into a more detailed drawing. … Read more
Water Experience
A water experience is an attraction or activity that takes place in or around water. This can include activities such as swimming, snorkeling, or boating, or attractions such as water parks or aquariums. … Read more
Ayahuasca Retreat
An Ayahuasca Retreat is a type of spiritual retreat that involves the use of the psychedelic brew ayahuasca. Ayahuasca is made from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the Psychotria viridis leaf and is said to offer spiritual insights and healing. … Read more
Drawing With Light
Drawing with light or light drawing is a photographic technique that involves taking a picture of a scene that is illuminated by a light source. The light can be used to trace an outline of a subject or to illuminate it from within. The technique can be used to create a variety of effects, including adding drama or mood to a scene. … Read more
Beach Tennis
Beach tennis is a sport that is similar to tennis, but is played on a beach. The game is played with a standard tennis ball and racquet, and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. … Read more
Trend Highlight – Playtomic: Helping Players Find Court Space
As Pickleball – the fastest-growing sport in the US – continues to surge, there’s a land grab among investors who think it could be the next tennis.
We first featured Pickleball back in 2019 (400% growth since) where it started out most popular among a surprising demographic: the elderly.
Unlike many other sports, pickleball – a mashup of badminton, tennis, and ping pong – doesn't give much of an edge to age or experience. It also takes far less time to play a full match than with other sports, so couples will schedule regular pickleball dates as a way to establish friendships within a community.
As pickleball grew in popularity among the 60+ demographic, retirement homes flocked to add the sport to their offerings and highlight it in their advertisements.
It’s more recently grown in popularity among a broader audience too. New players reach proficiency far faster than with tennis and players are also situated closer to each other than with tennis, encouraging conversation and more social play.
But as the sport has grown, it’s started to butt heads with the tennis world. Given the fixed amount of space in urban areas, it’s not always feasible to simply build more court space. And because it takes local governments’ departments of parks and recreation quite a while to catch up to current trends, private investors have started jumping on the opportunity.
Now, companies like Playtomic are also riding the industry’s growth. The company helps players – pickleball and tennis alike – find court space.
Trend Highlight – Why Rug Tufting Is So Popular
A new crafting product shares most of its components with a sewing machine yet it’s 10x the price, and is sold out in many places, even as growth skyrockets.
This product is the rug tufting gun, a sort of automated punch needle that lets users create custom rugs. Popular tufting guns currently retail for hundreds of dollars and look more like an industrial tool than something sold to hobbyists—the current consumer version is identical to the one used in factories that mass-produce custom carpets and even the versions currently available on Amazon have exposed motors and wires, a clear sign of the category’s infancy in the consumer arena.
Even now, searches for “tufting gun” bring up Etsy before Amazon, showing that it’s still a new product that hasn’t hit widespread seller awareness yet. As more approachable, low-cost tufting guns enter the market, growth can be expected to accelerate. And as crafting’s business potential becomes more apparent—with the IPO of Cricut as a catalyst—emerging crafting trends like rug tufting will get more attention.
Customer retention in hobbies like knitting, sewing, and tufting all benefit from the mismatch between how much material someone buys and how much they end up using: since yarn, for example, is generally sold in equal amounts for each color, but different patterns use different quantities, customers can get into a loop: using up one color and buying more, finding a pattern that will use up a different color they have too much of, and running out of something else. Like a food company that sells 8-packs of hot dogs and 10-packs of buns, brands in this space strategically ensure that customers are always running out of something, but never fully depleting their inventory.
Trend Highlight – The Rise of Mudlarking
One of the newest trends in leisure used to be a full-time job for the desperately poor. In eighteenth-century London, so-called "mudlarks" would walk along the banks of the Thames, looking for lost goods they could scavenge and sell. Today, tourists take the same walk and look for the same kinds of things, but for a different reason: they want to hold a piece of history in their hands—and unlike the originals, modern participants in mudlarking are actually paying for the privilege.
Mudlarking is a bit like magnet fishing but for history: it's a task that rewards patient, attentive people, especially the ones who can come up with an interesting backstory to explain a rusted or rotting artifact they've found. And like magnet fishing, it's highly amenable to YouTube content, since the discoveries can be surprising.
So far, mudlarking is under-monetized. There are paid tours in London and large cities, but sellers of metal detectors haven't yet added "mudlarking"-related keywords to their product descriptions, despite growing search volume around the world. It's a market that could exist in many other places too: many of the locations that have had big cities for the longest time are located on rivers, which made transportation easier.
Trend Highlight – Why Luxury Picnics Is Such A Popular Trend
A growing number of workers are quitting their full-time jobs to become self-employed luxury picnic planners, and are often making more than they were before.
While many event planners budget for event space rental costs, picnics typically happen on public land. And as many are finding, permitting practices haven’t caught up with the explosion in luxury picnic companies.
Beyond Covid’s acceleration of picnics, the explosion is happening against the backdrop of a growing theme: outdoor nature experiences are being made more lux, from glamping to overlanding, and now luxury picnics. For some people, the fun of nature activities is dealing with nature itself, but for others, a bit too much exposure to nature gets in the way of a good time.
The current volume of activity around luxury picnics matches with glamping’s first blip of activity in the summer of 2009. Over the past decade, Glamping has grown over a hundredfold to an industry that profits from the sale of everything from equipment and content to land rental and tours.
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