The British love their sport but whether as many play sport as watch it is a moot point for retailers in the active sports market who find themselves having to cater for the quite different needs of players and watchers. This section assesses the influence of sports lifestyles on sports retailing and gauges how consumers' response to calls for them to lead more active and less passive lifestyles will affect the retail category in future.

The section focuses on the leading UK retail businesses engaged in the selling of sports clothing and equipment and clothing and equipment of outdoor activities from dedicated stores and websites that have identifiable UK retail turnover in 2008/09 of greater than £50 million.