Marine retailer sentiment was flat in August compared with July. Sentiment on current conditions was 45 versus 44 in July, while the three-to-five-year outlook was 23, the same as in July. A neutral outlook is 50.

“There are promotions, rebates, incentives and a number of other reasons to actually buy right now, but consumers seem to be taking a wait-and-see attitude,” one dealer said in response to the monthly Pulse Report survey. “Nothing seems to be working.”

Another added, “Unfortunately, low margins are working. When the manufacturers begin to ask about the margins on our asking prices, what they’re basically saying is, to fix their ever-increasing MSRPs, we should accept less margin/income and simply sell more units to make up for it. This formula never gets old, and it never works. Both sides suffer.”

For this month’s Pulse Report, Soundings Trade Only, Baird Research and the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas asked 98 dealers about profit margins, managing inventory, other revenue sources and workforce challenges. A majority, 64%, of dealers reported declines in new-boat sales, while 25% saw growth. For used boats, 61% said sales were down, and 20% said they saw growth. August usually represents about 9% of annual retail sales.

Inventory continues to be a challenge, with 78% of dealers saying they had too many new boats in stock, and 4% reporting that inventory levels were too low. For used boats, 47% of retailers said they had too many boats on hand, and 13% responded that used-boat inventory was too low.

When asked about obstacles to sales, 40% of dealers said consumer mindset was the biggest challenge, followed by interest and financing at 25%, and customers being upside down with current boat valuation at 13%.

Strategies for preowned boats were a focus of the August survey. “With the number of used units in the marketplace, very attractive pricing and making it easy to buy from outside our region has been productive,” one dealer said. Another added, “We are working with customers to get specific boats that fit their needs, being especially aware of pricing, budget constraints and, especially, finance terms, rates and payments.”

Because of perceived buyer’s market conditions, dealers are being much more careful with what they take in trades and what they’ll pay for those trades. “We pass on boats that are questionable mechanically, are too old or don’t fit well in our market,” one dealer responded. Another said that his company was being “conservative” on trade numbers to give the dealership “flexibility in selling price without losing money.” This dealership also offers to broker boats for customers who don’t want to trade in their vessels.

With the presidential election just months away, retailers added that they felt buyers were waiting for the results in November before making big purchases. 

This article was originally published in the October 2024 issue.