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Black Friday sales stay on the rise

Of 153 V-twin dealers surveyed, only three of them were open on Thanksgiving Day in 2013. Sales for that day among the three of them totaled just more than $2,000. For metric dealers, 2 percent of stores were open (14 out of 659) on Thanksgiving Day, with three of them reaching sales of more than $4,000. The average sales total for all 14 stores was about $700 each.

These are among the findings of a survey conducted by ADP Lightspeed for the Thanksgiving Day weekend 2013. A total of 153 V-twin and 659 metric dealers were included. The survey looked at 2010 as a base year, and 2013 sales were compared against that year.

The charts detail Black Friday and Saturday sales in six regions of the U.S. With this level of detail, we see that California and the West are consistently highest in sales for this weekend. We also note that the Northeast and the Northwest are lowest in every measure. Each year studied for both markets in all regions showed steady increases over the previous year.

An unexpected result of the survey shows that the South is very high for V-twin dealers, ranking with leaders California and the West, but on the metric side this same region is dead last in sales. While this is unexplained with the data available, it may indicate a large potential untapped market for metric dealers in the South.

Click image to view larger (Source: ADP Lightspeed)
Click image to view larger (Source: ADP Lightspeed)

Chart A

Focusing on Black Friday only, we see that V-twin stores in California and the South are averaging $16,500 each in sales in 2013. In 2010, California was at $11,500 per store (an increase of 44 percent, or about 15 percent per year).

The South, starting from a higher point in 2010, was at $14,400 (which yields an annual increase of about 5 percent per year).

Chart B

Click image to view larger (Source: ADP Lightspeed)
Click image to view larger (Source: ADP Lightspeed)

Combining both Black Friday and the Saturday after at V-twin stores, we see that California and the South remain on top at $27,000 and $29,000 per weekend, respectively. California, however, shows the most improvement, growing at about 19 percent in each of the years.

Chart C

Metric dealers run about half the sales reached by V-twin dealerships for Black Friday in all regions of the country. California posts the highest sales for both markets, with the Northeast ranking lowest for metric.

Click image to view larger (Source: ADP Lightspeed)
Click image to view larger (Source: ADP Lightspeed)

A significant difference between the two markets is found in the South. For V-twin, the South ranks at the highest levels. But for metric, the South is lowest of all regions for Black Friday sales.

Chart D

Among metric dealers, sales for the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving show California and the West ahead of other regions. Those two regions are also the most improved since 2010. The Northeast and the Northwest rank lowest both in 2010 and now in 2013.

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Click image to view larger (Source: ADP Lightspeed)
Click image to view larger (Source: ADP Lightspeed)

Hal Ethington has been associated with the powersports industry for more than 40 years. Ethington is a senior analyst at ADP Lightspeed. Contact him at Hal.Ethington@adp.com.

 

 

 

 

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