BOULDER, CO (BRAIN) Tuesday July 3 2012 4:59 PM MT— The continuation of favorable weather helped boost May dollar sales to record levels at IBDs despite a drop in the number of bicycles sold, according to new figures from Leisure Trends Group.
Merchandise totaled $372 million for month, up 4 percent from a year earlier and the largest May dollar volume in at least four years, the research firm reported in its RetailTRAK data. Average sale price remained flat as units increased 4 percent.
Bicycle unit sales, meanwhile, were down for a second straight month following a strong first quarter, off 4 percent in May to 271,000. Still, a 5 percent increase in suggested retail price pushed dollar sales to a 1 percent gain, for a total of $196 million.
Twenty-niner sales surged 49 percent to $25 million and accounted for 44 percent of the month’s mountain bike dollars, compared with 32 percent a year earlier. Road unit sales dropped 5 percent to 43,000, with dollar sales dipping 3 percent to $67 million.
Lifestyle/leisure posted the largest drop among the major bike categories, down 10 percent in units to 27,000 and off 6 percent in dollars to total $11 million.
Previously purchased bikes got a lot of love from their owners during the month, with $64 million in aftermarket parts sold, up 14 percent from May 2011. Components, saddles/pads, tires/tubes and wheels/wheel parts all saw double-digit growth, Leisure Trends reported.
Strong categories in aftermarket accessories included electronics (up 16 percent to $7.5 million), hydration (up 15 percent to $8 million), nutrition (up 11 percent to $2.9 million) and packs/racks (up 31 percent to $6.8 million).
