The Camp Store Checklist: What to Stock for Summer 2027
Camp stores are their own little economy. Campers plan purchases for weeks, parents pre-load accounts, and by August the popular sizes are gone while a box of something nobody wanted sits in the back. We’ve stocked hundreds of camp stores over 27 years, and the same patterns show up every single summer. Here’s the checklist we’d hand any camp director planning next year’s store.
The staples
Camp tees. The shirt every camper goes home in and the one photo parents post on pickup day. Order generously; these are the last thing you want to run out of in week two.
Hoodies and crewnecks. The number one seller in most stores we stock. Campers buy them oversized on purpose, so shift your size curve up from what the roster suggests.
Sweatpants. The sleeper hit of the last few summers, especially in tie-dye. If your store hasn’t carried them yet, this is the year.
Caps and bucket hats. One structured cap, one bucket. The bucket hat will outsell your expectations.
The underrated sellers
Water bottles. Every camper needs one, every camper loses one. Mid-summer restocks on bottles are the most common reorder call we get.
Towels. A camp-logo beach towel is half gear, half souvenir. Parents love them.
Laundry and drawstring bags. Cheap to stock, useful all session, and they carry the logo home.
Stickers. Campers plaster them on bottles that already have the camp logo on them. Don’t ask why. Stock them anyway.
Tie-dye anything. Still going strong. If a plain item sells well, its tie-dye version sells better.
Bunk gifts and care package items
Small plush, friendship-bracelet-adjacent trinkets, mini flashlights, playing cards with the camp mark. These give parents an easy add-on and give the store shelf variety beyond apparel.
Staff exclusives
One design that only staff can wear. It costs you a single extra print run and gives your counselors an identity campers notice. Staff quarter-zips in particular get worn all year, which means your camp’s name rides along to every college campus your counselors go home to.
Get the sizes right
Youth medium and large, and adult small and medium, carry most stores. The tails of the size curve matter less than everyone fears, and an oversized fit is the style anyway. When in doubt, size up your order mix rather than out.
The timeline that makes spring easy
The camps with the calmest springs lock artwork and orders between November and February. Digital proofs come back in 24 to 48 hours, production runs about two weeks door to door, and gear arrives long before staff week. June should be for camp, not for tracking shipments.
Mid-summer restocks happen every year (a size sells out, enrollment jumps). Because your proofs are already approved by then, reorders move fast.
Or skip the inventory entirely
Some camps are done with folding tables and size sorting altogether. A free online camp store handles it: we set it up, run it, print every order, and ship straight to families, all year. The camp holds zero inventory and earns on every sale. See how camp stores work, and the full picture of what we do for camps is on our summer camps page.
Planning summer 2027?
Send us your camp logo and we’ll send back free mockups on real products within 24 to 48 hours, no commitment. Or just call Kenny: 718-496-5268. He’s been stocking camp stores since 1999 and has opinions about bucket hats.