Marine dealer sentiment improved in September on current conditions (51 versus 45 in August) and on the three-to-five-year outlook (31 versus 23 in August). A neutral outlook is 50.

Retailers continue to report that inventory is higher than they would like, both with new and used boats. Eighty-two percent of dealers this month reported that new-boat inventory was too high, compared to only 4% that reported too low. For used boat inventory, 49% said it was too high, compared with 22% who reported it being too low.

“We see a flooded preowned market, tighter underwriting from lenders, increasing new-inventory pricing, and consumer sentiment with either a wait-and-see mentality or heavily discounted stagnant inventory purchase,” one dealer said in response to the monthly Pulse Report survey. “Coupled with an election year, it is one of the toughest markets we have experienced in many years. We are very concerned about inventory, credit and interest rates, and believe we will see a thinning out of dealers over the next months.”

For this month’s Pulse Report, Soundings Trade Only, Baird Research and the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas asked 76 marine retailers to assess recent trends in North America. More dealers reported retail declines in September (65%) than growth (18%) and conveyed negative trends in used boat retail, with 63% reporting declines versus 15% reporting growth. According to the survey, September usually represents around 6% of annual retail sales.

When asked what is not working regarding retail sales, dealers cited interest rates, consumer uncertainty, slow dealership traffic and elevated inventory as challenges in their businesses.

“Consumer confidence and current economic conditions are deterring many from purchasing,” one respondent said. “We are still selling a few units, but almost all of those are cash sales from buyers seemingly unaffected by the state of the economy, with enough discretionary income to choose what they want.”

Another said: “Too much inventory in the field to be liquidated. Now buyers walking in have an unrealistic expectation of what boats should cost. Margins look to be difficult to get for the next little while.”

When asked what strategies are working, one dealer said, “Fundamental selling is what’s working. Good communication, quick follow-up, customer service.” Another commented: “In-house events and promotions, increased spending in digital advertising, monthly training with the sales staff, increasing the product offerings and scaling up sales staff with people focused on selling.”

Based on dealer checks done by Baird, the outlook for the industry suggests continued retail declines and dealers focusing on fine-tuning inventory levels. The presidential elections, economic trends and elevated interest rates likely will continue to pressure retail into 2025 and keep new-boat production levels low.