BPSA’s decade-long partnership with the NPD Group has resulted in the best statistical information in the history of the industry being made available to BPSA members.

By measuring the sell-in of product to suppliers, than monitoring the sell-through of bikes and accessories through a network of 650 retailers, industry executives are making better forecasting decisions than ever.

In the recently renewed contract between BPSA and NPD, Statistics committee chair Bernie Doering of Stages Cycling negotiated a key piece that’s essential to understanding the overall bicycle market: What’s called ROM, or Rest Of Market data.

“While our costs with NPD have risen, we’re glad to dedicate some of our member’s dues contributions to get data from Amazon, Walmart and other retail outlets that we haven’t previously tracked,” Doering said.

Merchandise Sales Dip 5%

All merchandise sales at independent bike dealers, totaling $373M this June, dipped 5% when compared to June 2013. Unit sales fell 8% but average retail-selling price grew 4%.

Bicycle units grew 1% but dollars fell 2% due to a 3% drop in average retail-selling price. Road bike units were flat but retail-selling prices and dollars both fell 5%.

Mountain bike dollars fell 8% to $53M on a 7% unit drop and 1% decrease to average retail-selling price. All growth came from 27.5-inch-wheeled bikes’ explosive growth, up 472% to total $9M this June.

Transit/Fitness and Lifestyle/Leisure Bikes did well by comparison, with both categories up 5% in dollar sales.

Helmet units increased 2% over June 2013, helping lift dollars 3%. Shoe units and dollars both fell 3%. Apparel dollars dropped 13% to $17M, its lowest June level in at least three years. Aftermarket parts dollars declined 10% to $62M while aftermarket accessories declined 6% to $69M.

Year-to-date, IBD merchandise dollars fell 1% to $1.7B. Bike dollars remained flat, apparel/helmets/shoes declined 2%, aftermarket parts dropped 6% and aftermarket accessories declined 1%.

June 2014 vs. June 2013:Dollar Sales

Modest Growth that Started in March Continues

All merchandise sales at IBDs, totaling $387M this May, dipped 1% when compared to May 2013. Unit sales fell 6% but average retail-selling price grew 5%.

Bicycle units jumped 6% but dollars grew just 1% due to a 5% drop in average retail-selling price. Road bike units slid 1%, retail-selling prices fell 10% (-$158) and dollar sales dropped 11% to $64M.

Mountain bike dollars fell 5% to $56M on a 10% unit drop and 5% increase to average retail-selling price. 
All growth came from 27.5-inch-wheeled bikes’ explosive growth. Sales reached $10M this May. Twenty-niner dollars plunged 18% to $28M and 26-inch models dropped 24% to $18M.

Positively, the less “hard core” categories did quite well. In dollars, lifestyle/leisure bikes grew 7% and transit/fitness jumped 19%.

Helmet units increased 16% over May 2013, lifting dollars 14%. Shoe units and dollars rose 4% and 6%, respectively. Apparel dollars dropped 10% to $17M, the lowest May level in at least three years. Aftermarket parts dollars declined 9% to $61M while aftermarket accessories remained even at $67M.

Year-to-date, IBD merchandise dollars remained flat at $1.3B. Bike dollars grew 2%, apparel/helmets/shoes remained even, aftermarket parts dropped 5% and aftermarket accessories inched up 1%.

May 2014 vs. May 2013:Dollar Sales

Modest Growth that Started in March Continues

Independent bike dealers grew merchandise dollars 2% compared to April 2013, reaching $366M. Units and average retail-selling prices each rose just under 1%.

Bikes 5% unit growth pushed dollars up 2% to $204M. ARSP dropped 3% due to road bikes 10% plummet to $1,458 per unit, the lowest since June 2011. The price drop for roadies did little to spur unit growth, which increased 2%. Road dollars dropped 8% to $66M.

Mountain bike dollars rose 2% to $57M despite the 4% unit contraction. All of the growth came from 27.5-inch-wheeled bikes’ tenfold sales increase to $7M. Twenty-niner dollars fell 5% to $32M and 26-inch models declined 15% to $19M.

Helmet units surged 26% over April 2013, lifting dollars 23%. Shoe units and dollars rose 6% and 3%, respectively. Apparel dropped 9% to its lowest April level in at least three years, $15M. Aftermarket parts dollars declined 2% to $57M while accessories rose 2% to $61M.

Year-to-date, IBD merchandise dollars rose 1% to 911M. Every major category saw dollar growth of 2% or less with the exception of parts, where dollars declined 4%.

April 2014 vs. April 2013:Dollar Sales

Sales Rebound After Slow Start To Year

After a down beginning to the year, IBDs posted growth for the first time in 2014. Compared to March 2013, all merchandise sales gained 3% in units and 4% in dollars to total $255M. The month’s gain mitigated early year losses and left first quarter sales even with last year at $546M.

While up 13% in units and 5% in dollars to $135M, bicycle sales proved to be a mixed bag. Road bikes continued their steady decline, shedding another 8% to settle at $47M. Twenty six-inch mountain bikes dropped 18% to $11M and 29ers slipped 8% to $22M.

Positively, 27.5-inch MTBs leapt from just over $100K in sales last March to an impressive $6M. The wheel size accounted for 15% of the month’s MTB dollars compared to 56% for 29ers and 28% for 26-inch wheeled models. Transit/fitness (+21% to $27M) and lifestyle/leisure (+33% to $7M) bikes also enjoyed large gains. Children’s bikes posted double-digit growth too, up 24% to $8M.

Compared to March 2013, helmets (+23% to $8M), shoes (+6% to $7M) and apparel accessories (+4% to $5M) gained while apparel (-2% to $11M) fell.

With the notable exception of tires/tubes, up 10% to $12M, nearly all subcategories negatively contributed to aftermarket part’s overall 1% decline to $43M. Aftermarket accessory sales grew 3% to reach $46M.

March 2014 vs. March 2013:Dollar Sales