Identifying today’s powersports buyers and new opportunities for dealers
Having a thorough understanding of the powersports enthusiasts you are selling to is essential for dealers to stay ahead of the competition. Knowing your current audience and their preferences will help you provide the services they need and expand your business. To get you started, Cycle Trader and Statistical Surveys Inc. have analyzed monthly motorcycle registration data from 2023 to gain insight into the current market and what’s popular. Utilizing this data, dealers can create effective strategies to reach buyers and close more deals in 2024.
When analyzing the year-to-year registrations by age and gender, the demographic trends remain consistent. The majority of today’s buyers are males aged between 35 and 54, with the 35-44 age group showing the most growth year to date. We have noticed some signs of growth within the female demographic, with slight increases in registrations over the years.
Despite a slight decline in registrations in 2023, there is still an opportunity to increase your advertising efforts to get more buyers in your funnel before the peak selling season starts. Our data shows that potential customers are still actively searching, with Cycle Trader receiving an average of 4.8 million visitors in Q3 2023.
In 2023, the leading buying group earns an income range of $50,000-$74,000, and buyers making $75,000-$99,999 are the second largest group of registrations, which has been the case since 2019. This means that you will have a wide range of different economic backgrounds in your primary audience. To effectively engage this audience, make sure to follow advertising best practices and include unit pricing on your listings. By doing so, you are giving buyers a clear idea of what units are within their budget, which can attract more serious leads for your dealership.
In Los Angeles, Cruisers, Dual Sports, Sport, Standard, and Touring motorcycles are the most popular and currently hold the highest BTAs (basic trading areas) in the nation. Our data also reveals that UTVs, Sport, Quads, Touring, and Scooters all experienced the highest rate of registration in 2023, with the number of registered vehicles in each category being significantly higher than in 2022.
If you want to be successful and remain ahead of your competitors in this market, it is essential to take advantage of the current high demand for these units by incorporating them into your inventory mix and advertising them through various online channels. Doing so will ensure that you have the necessary resources to meet the demands of your customers and maximize your profits.
By leveraging the insights from Cycle Trader and Statistical Surveys, you can ensure that you are proactively positioning your dealership for success in the competitive industry. Evaluating your target audience and planning your strategy accordingly is essential for the 2024 selling season. So, make sure you utilize all available data to put yourself in the best position to succeed.
Ryan Kloppe is the Director of Sales at Statistical Surveys, owned by Trader Interactive, parent company of Cycle Trader. He has been with Statistical Surveys since 2012 and has 20 years of sales and data experience in the marine, powersports, banking and medical industries. While at Statistical Surveys, Ryan has consistently increased sales year over year while developing and maintaining successful business relationships. Ryan’s work can be seen in multiple trade publications that are released on a monthly and quarterly basis.
