The slower economy at the end of 2022 pushed marine retailers to get creative about boosting business amid the winter boat-show season.
“Launch of our fractional leasing program has been a success,” a dealer wrote in the monthly Pulse Report survey. “Great reviews from people participating in the program. Adding more boats in 2023.”
In this month’s report, Soundings Trade Only, Baird Research and the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas surveyed 86 marine dealers, asking about retail sales trends, how they’ve tried to improve communication with service customers, and what they’re doing to retain new boaters.
Dealer sentiment on current retail trends improved in January, jumping 20 points from 21 to 41. The three- to five-year outlook also increased, to 52 in January from 40 in December. Neutral is 50. Retailers reported slight
declines in new- and used-boat sales trends but had a better overall outlook.
Dealers said government inaction or action, access to credit, the economy, weather and trade-in activity were all headwinds to retail demand in January. New-boat inventory remained a concern, with 47% of dealers reporting that they had too many new boats in stock, while 21% said inventory was too low. Used boats were closer to being balanced, with 36% of dealers saying inventory was too low and 33% calling it too high.
On the downside, dealers said manufacturer price increases during the past two years needed to be adjusted. “Greed overwhelmed otherwise thoughtful builders,” one retailer said.
Others said a lack of consumer confidence about the economy was affecting sales. “More people are looking to fix what they have versus getting into a new payment,” one dealer said. “We are seeing some of the highest interest rates on recreational boat loans in almost 20 years, with no end in sight.”
On the service side, dealers were asked which tactics they had implemented in the service process. The majority said they were working to provide a consistent service and delivery experience, followed by others who said they were implementing communication procedures such as texting customers pickup reminders and invoices. Others adopted and communicated a storage-fee policy, while the fewest respondents said they added a delivery service for an additional fee.
New-boater retention remains critical for the industry, and 51% of dealers said there were using sales incentives to keep newcomers interested. Another 22% created group activities at the dealership. Eight percent offered deals on service, and many dealers said they were offering a combination of all three.
One dealer added a marketing person, while another asked customers how they use their boats. A third offered women-specific safety courses. “Having good customer relationships is much more important for us,” another wrote. “People come to us because they like us.”
Overall, dealers seemed to be taking a realistic look at business and settling into a more typical seasonal environment. “Give us some sunshine and warm weather, and things will be fine,” one said. “It’s January.”
This article was originally published in the March 2023 issue.
