On the same day that the National Resources Defense Council and Protect Our Winters released the first study of the impact of low snow years on the economy (impact: bad. outlook: grim), the ski industry announced that retail sales for October were down 5 percent in units and 4 percent in dollars over the previous October. The SnowSports Industries Association blames much of the erosion on Hurricane Sandy. “Sandy had a direct impact on the residences of a third of skiers and riders in the U.S. market,” it said. A closer look at the numbers reveals even more sobering trends: Speciality retailers, core ski and board shops, were off 23 percent in hardgoods sales, dropping $12.9 million to $44.5 million, with the total speciality market slipping 16 percent. Some of that was picked up through online sales, which grew $8.4 million and now is almost equal to the amount spent at speciality. That can’t be making shop owners feeling too rosy. Via SIA.

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Tags: Skiing, Snowboarding

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