“My most expensive boats are selling.” That comment, from a dealer in the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas’ June Pulse Report, captures one side of today’s marine market. Another dealer captured the other side: “I am not an economist. Seems like we have lost the middle-class buyer.” Taken together, those comments tell a much bigger story than either one does on its own.
The premium customer is still buying. Consumers searching for greater affordability are increasingly turning to used boats. Halfway through 2026, dealers are reporting continued weakness in new-boat retail while used-boat sales are strengthening. New-boat inventory remains higher than most dealers want, with used inventory in short supply. Somewhere between those two ends of the market, the traditional middle of new-boat ownership is disappearing.
In many ways, down has become the new up across the marine industry. Unit sales have declined methodically since 2018, yet average selling prices have risen nearly 80%. Dealers and manufacturers are selling fewer boats while generating more revenue and, in many cases, more profit from each transaction.
Now let’s be clear: Doing less for more money is generally a sound business strategy. It has helped many marine businesses remain profitable through a difficult market, and there is nothing wrong with protecting margin or pursuing stronger returns.
The strategy works until it begins shrinking the number of customers who can participate. And that raises an uncomfortable question for our industry: What happens when the financial measures telling us we are succeeding conceal the fact that fewer consumers can afford to buy the products we sell?
While I assume you understand how we arrived here, let’s acknowledge it: During the pandemic, demand overwhelmed supply. Consumers were willing to wait for custom-ordered boats, and with limited production capacity, manufacturers and dealers prioritized building and selling larger, more profitable models with more horsepower, more technology and more options. In a marketplace where nearly every boat was being sold, those decisions were logical. The strategy made sense.
The results reinforced the strategy. Average selling prices climbed at rates our industry had never seen. Revenue per unit increased. Profits improved. Those measurements became evidence that the industry was moving in the right direction, and in many respects, it was. A manufacturer that can produce fewer units while earning greater returns reduces some of the operational pressure that comes with high-volume production. A dealer that can meet its financial goals with fewer transactions can protect its people, its cash flow and its business.
The challenge is that success tends to shape future behavior. Once the larger, more highly equipped boats became the strongest performers, the industry continued moving in that direction. The next model became more powerful. The next package became more sophisticated. The next average selling price became another metric to improve upon.
Dealers and manufacturers responded to what customers were buying and followed the signals their scoreboards provided. No one set out to eliminate the middle of the market. The question is whether this strategy can continue working as the number of consumers capable of buying those products continues to shrink.
A shrinking customer base creates another risk. Today’s premium buyer is being supported, at least in part, by a strong stock market and the wealth effect that comes with it. In a K-shaped economy, affluent consumers have continued to spend while many middle-income households have become more cautious, more selective and less willing to take on a large discretionary purchase.
That dynamic may continue supporting the premium market for years. Or it may not. No one knows when asset values will correct, how significant that correction might be or how today’s affluent consumer will respond when confidence weakens. But when an industry becomes increasingly dependent on a narrow group of buyers, it becomes more vulnerable to any change in their willingness or ability to spend. And if that premium customer begins to pull back, who remains to drive the next recovery if the middle of the market has been priced out?
This is where our industry has a choice. We can intentionally begin rebuilding a credible path into new-boat ownership while we still have time to rethink products, ownership models, financing and the value we deliver. Or we can wait until market forces push us back toward the middle through excess inventory, aggressive discounting and shrinking margins.
In my new book, Anchoring: The 9 Leadership Disciplines That Redefine Dealership Success, I refer to this leadership discipline as “Grasp the Future First.” It means recognizing where customers and market forces are headed early enough to act while meaningful choices remain. The future rarely arrives all at once. More often, it reveals itself through signals that are easy to rationalize or ignore until the consequences become impossible to avoid.
The strength of used-boat demand, the growth of boat clubs and the disappearance of the middle-class, new-boat buyer are signals. They are telling us that consumers still want boating, but a growing number of them cannot justify the ownership proposition we have created. The question is whether we respond to those signals now, on our own terms, or later, when the market leaves us fewer and far more painful options.
Strong used-boat demand and growing club participation are encouraging because they confirm that consumers still want to get on the water. They also reveal how much of the customer journey is moving beyond the reach of dealers and manufacturers.
When a boat changes hands driveway to driveway, or a consumer chooses access over ownership, there may be no dealer or manufacturer accountable for building trust in ownership, guiding a personalized journey or owning the moments that really matter in the boating lifestyle. Building boater confidence, enabling boat usage and strengthening continuity with our industry are largely left to chance. Is that a risk we can continue to take?
That reality is why promotions and marketing, which dealers find themselves seeking more of, cannot solve this problem alone. Those tactics may attract a customer to the dealership, create urgency or help close a deal. But they cannot repair an ownership proposition that no longer feels worth the price, commitment and ongoing cost.
The middle of the market is disappearing because consumers are finding a value equation they can justify elsewhere. If we continue defining success primarily through revenue per unit, margin and premium demand, we should expect more of the same: fewer buyers, more-expensive boats and less influence over the ownership experience.
A healthier future will require a broader scorecard, one that balances profitability with sustainable unit sales growth, more first-time boat buyers, greater participation among younger generations, more-frequent boat usage and stronger continuity with the boating lifestyle.
Profitability will always matter. Having enough customers to sustain it must matter, too.
Matt Gruhn is president of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas and the author of Anchoring: The 9 Leadership Disciplines That Redefine Dealership Success.
This story originally appeared in the September 2026 issue of Soundings Trade Only.
