Colorado new No. 1 for sled accessory sales
ADP Lightspeed study shows top states for sled accessory sales
A snowmobile sold in Pennsylvania or Indiana during the past 13 months carried an average of about $9 in accessories for every $1,000 of the new machine price. However, that same new unit sold in Colorado would produce more than triple that amount, with $28.83 in accessory sales for each $1,000 of new machine cost.
Those are among the findings of a new study created by ADP Lightspeed exclusively for Powersports Business. Utah, Montana, Washington and Alaska complete the top 5 states with high ratios of accessory sales on new units. The rates for all states with snowmobile sales are shown on Chart A.
In last year’s study, California was ranked first with a return of $28 per $1,000 spent on a new sled. That state has dropped to $20 per $1,000 this year, with Colorado rising from $16 (ranked third in 2012) to the current $28.83 level.
Looking at U.S. regions (Table 1), the Western Region is the highest ranked region at $23.56 per thousand. The Northwestern Region is second at $21.99, with the South on the low end with a few machine sales, but no accessories.
The 20 top selling part numbers over the past 13 months (Table 2) total more than $2 million in sales.
“The top 20 selling parts account for 7 percent of the $29 million in parts sold with new snowmobiles during the study period,” ADP Lightspeed analyst Hal Ethington said. “The list is heavy in drive belts, covers and 1+1 seats that are scattered throughout the list.”
Consumables (oils, plugs, etc.) do not appear in this study.
“This study was limited to parts sold on deals in association with the sale of a new snowmobile,” Ethington said. “Parts sold over the counter were not included since they could not be tied to a new unit purchase.”
Ethington said total sales involved in this 13-month period were 23,800 new units ($189 million in sales), and $3.3 million in accessory sales. A total of 485 U.S. dealers contributed data.
Canadian update
Snowmobile accessory sales in the Northwest Territory are highest in Canada at $36.60 per $1,000, higher than the top-ranked U.S. state, the ADP Lightspeed survey shows.
Saskatchewan this year is last at $0.32 per $1,000 of the new machine cost. The rate is a decline from last year’s $10.00 per $1,000 in that province, Ethington said. Last year’s Canadian low was New Brunswick at only $2.00 per $1,000. That province has climbed substantially to third place this year, at $27.60 per $1,000 in new unit sales.
A total of 83 Canadian dealerships participated in this study.
