Is Screen Time Killing Outdoor Outings? Plus: Switchback’s 2027 Shakeup!

In this episode of Outdoor Unfiltered, host Eoin Comerford breaks through the PR speak to deliver critical insights on the outdoor industry's evolving landscape. First, we unpack the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) 2026 Outdoor Participation Trends Report. While the participant base hit a record 183 million, actual outings are declining. Eoin looks at why screen time is the ultimate enemy and how Merrell is tackling this with their It Starts Outside campaign. Next, Eoin analyzes Switchback’s shocking shift to late May 2027 dates in New Orleans, navigating what a weekend trade show means for specialty retailers, Grassroots Connect, and the 360 Collective. Later, Mike Massey, Founder and CEO of Locally (and former GOA president), joins the show to discuss reviving the brand-retailer relationship. We dive deep into the math of D2C vs. wholesale contribution margins, why brands like Patagonia and Yeti succeed by prioritizing local retail, and how Locally’s new AI-powered ShopSense platform is helping reps and stores optimize regional product assortments for brands like Helly Hansen. Tune in for an unfiltered conversation on thriving in a channel-agnostic retail world, brought to you by our sponsors ENDVR and Crux Retail. Host: Eoin Comerford Guest: Mike Massey, Founder & CEO of Locally Timestamps \[0:00] – Intro & Episode Overview Eoin previews the three topics: the OIA Outdoor Participation Trends Report, Switchback 2027 dates, and the interview with Mike Massey of Locally. \[0:23] – OIA 2026 Outdoor Participation Trends Report Kelly Davis's presentation at Switchback revealed a record 183 million outdoor participants in 2025 — 59% of Americans — up 1.6% from 2024 and nearly 20% above pre-COVID levels. \[1:29] – The Dark Side of the Data: Declining Outings Per Participant Despite record participation, outings per participant have dropped 14% from COVID highs and 15% from 2016 peaks. Eoin traces the decline back to 2007 — the year the iPhone launched — arguing screen time is stealing outdoor time. \[1:55] – 18–34 Year Olds & the Smartphone Problem The 18–34 age group is the only one showing declining participation rates, correlating with record levels of anxiety and depression tied to smartphone use. \[3:09] – Industry Call to Action: "Put Your Phone Down" Eoin makes the case that addressing smartphone addiction is both a business and social imperative. He highlights Merrell's *It Starts Outside* campaign as a step in the right direction. \[4:04] – Sponsor: Endeavor Endeavor connects brands directly to 140,000+ frontline retail associates for product education and sales incentives. \[4:49] – Switchback 2027: New Dates Announced The show is moving to May 22–24, 2027 — a Saturday through Monday, the weekend before Memorial Day — shifting earlier rather than later to avoid June's crowded buying calendar. \[6:02] – Pros, Cons & Eoin's Unsolicited Advice for Switchback Eoin weighs the challenges (retailers may be on the floor Memorial weekend) against opportunities and encourages Switchback to lean into the New Orleans weekend vibe with brand parties, partner packages, and an industry awards ball. \[7:57] – Sponsor: Crux Retail Crux Retail designs custom retail fixtures for outdoor brands like Yakima, Dometic, Wahoo, and Clif Bar. \[8:47] – Interview: Mike Massey, Founder & CEO of Locally Eoin welcomes Mike to discuss Locally's origin story — born out of outdoor retail (Massey's is a third-generation New Orleans chain) and funded by industry insiders — with a mission to use digital marketing to drive foot traffic to local stores. \[9:22] – What Is Locally & How Does It Work? Locally aggregates real-time inventory from 70,000 retailers and uses digital tools to connect online shoppers to products available in local stores. Revenue comes ~80% from brand tools/data and ~20% from retailer transaction fees (3.5% on confirmed local pickups and same-day delivery). \[13:52] – The Brand-Retailer Partnership Score Eoin introduces his scoring framework evaluating brands on two lenses: (1) how discount-heavy their D2C experience is, and (2) how well they promote retail partners on their site. \[14:10] – Why Are Brands So Discount-Oriented? Mike and Eoin discuss how short-term investor pressure and siloed conversion-rate thinking have driven brands toward constant discounting, undermining retailer relationships built over decades. \[15:41] – The Conversion Rate Trap Brands obsess over converting visitors on their D2C site, but lose sight of the 98%+ who don't buy — and those shoppers often end up on Amazon. Locally argues the online-to-offline journey should be treated as a continuous funnel, not separate channels. \[18:04] – Showing Retailer Inventory on the Product Page (PDP) The highest-scoring partnership behavior: displaying local retailer inventory directly on a brand's product page so customers can find the right size/color at a nearby store. AB testing by major brands shows this actually *increases* e-commerce conversion too. \[21:14] – Ship from Store & Sustainability Locally is launching ship-from-store, enabling brands to fulfill online orders from nearby retail inventory — reducing cross-country shipping and making specialty retail a distributed warehouse network. \[23:05] – Specialty Retail as Amazon's Antidote The 70,000 retailers on Locally's platform are effectively a distributed fulfillment network that can compete with Amazon on speed and locality — brands just need to wire it together. \[24:17] – The Channel-Agnostic / Marketplace Model The future: brand websites function as demand aggregators showing all available inventory (brand + retail), with an Amazon-style "buy box" that sometimes directs the sale to the nearest local retailer. \[26:13] – The D2C vs. Wholesale Math: Contribution Margin Reality Eoin breaks down how a 70% gross D2C margin can collapse to 20% contribution margin after discounts, returns, fulfillment, and marketing costs — while wholesale's 45% gross margin often yields a *higher* 25% contribution margin. \[29:26] – Locally's Unique Data Assets Mike outlines three proprietary data sets: (1) real-time inventory from 10%+ of U.S. durable goods retailers, (2) a daily sales velocity model with ~100% confidence, and (3) 60 million unique shoppers/month (up to 6 million/hour) generating real-time trend signals. \[33:21] – ShopSense: AI-Powered Retail Intelligence Locally's ShopSense platform is being rebuilt with AI at its core — retailers will be able to ask natural language questions and receive instant, actionable reports on what to carry, what to drop, and where the demand is. \[35:30] – Tools for Reps & New Account Development Reps can use Locally's data to show prospective retailers proven local demand for their brand, making the pitch data-driven rather than anecdotal. \[36:31] – Closing: The Industry's Path Forward Eoin and Mike agree: Amazon isn't going away, but specialty retail — properly wired together — can compete. The key is brands and retailers working as true partners. ### Connect With Us We would love to hear your thoughts on the show, inside intel, guest ideas, sponsorship inquiries, or whatever's on your mind. - Host: Connect with Eoin Comerford on LinkedIn - Email: [outdoorunfilteredpod@gmail.com](mailto:outdoorunfilteredpod@gmail.com) ### Our Sponsors - ENDVR: The network that connects brands, retailers, and frontline associates to power sell-through across your wholesale channel. Learn more at www.endvr.io - Crux Retail: Designing and engineering custom, customer-centric retail store fixtures and bold retail displays for bold brands. Learn more at www.crux-retail.com