COVID has the potential to bring that new customer base along with it, especially considering the next trend.
First-Time Buyers
One of the more unanticipated economic success stories during the pandemic has been an unprecedented increase in U.S. boat sales. This trend started early in the year and kept building. A September report from The National Marine Manufacturers Association states 47% of marine manufacturers saw a year-over- year increase in new orders by the end of Q2, and 15% reported substantial growth in sales. A July story in the New York Times , The Boat Business is Booming, highlighted this national run on boat buying, largely spurred by first-time buyers. Boat manufacturer Yamaha sold 1,600 boats in May alone, one-third of what it typically sells in a year. MarineMax, a dealer with 64 locations in 23 states, reported increased sales in every single category of boat they sell. Ryan Kelly, a partner in Kelly's Port, a boat dealership in Osage Beach, Missouri, captured the general sense of surprise and awe within the industry. "We know there are a lot of people hurting right now, but speaking on dollars and cents, we've never ever, ever seen boat sales like this." Kelly's comments were echoed in an October article in Community Impact Newspaper , reporting on the boating boom in Texas and Lake Travis. Buzz Watkins, the owner of Lakeway's MarineMax Sail & Ski in Central Texas, said he had "worked in the boating industry for more than 40 years, but had never seen a surge in business like the one boat dealers experienced this summer." Like many parts of the U.S., Texas has experienced a huge increase in retail boat sales, accompanied by growing sales for kayaks, canoes and paddle boards and a substantial increase in boating and water-based recreation. A key story within this story is how effectively dealers were able to coordinate and make these sales remotely. The increasing importance of online sales and marketing for the recreational marina and boating industries certainly came to the fore in 2020. It was also exemplified by the socially distanced growth in automated payments and tipping, online management and scheduling tools, and online customer communications at many marinas. Many ideas of what customers would and wouldn't be willing to do online (and what owners/operators would be willing to automate) have changed in response to the pandemic - a trend that will certainly carry forward. It seems unlikely that 2020's unprecedented sales surge to first- time buyers will repeat itself in 2021, although there could be continued momentum and gains in certain boat and watercraft categories. While it is much more difficult to know whether this sudden shift in buyer interest and growth can be sustained after COVID is over, there is clearly an opportunity for outreach campaigns targeting these new customers, and a proactive approach to filling the new needs and demands they bring to the market.
20 Marina Dock Age November/December 2020
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