BOULDER, CO (BRAIN)—According to Leisure Trends Group, overall merchandise sales at IBDS during September were up 5 percent in units and 9 percent in dollars compared to September 2010, totaling $263 million. That’s up $21 million compared to the same month last year.
Complete bike sales, which accounted for $131 million or 46 percent of that total, dropped 1 percent in units. But dollar sales were up 9 percent. The Boulder, Colorado, market research group attributed the growth to a jump in the average retail-selling price of 9 percent. The average bike in September sold for $733 compared to $670 last year.
Road bikes were up 5 percent in units and 9 percent in dollars for the month and remain the strongest category at retail for complete bikes, gaining 11 percent in units through the first nine months of the year. Mountain and transit/fitness bikes were flat and down, respectively, during September.
In accessories, Leisure Trends called out helmets and locks as doing well in September. Unit sales were up 16 percent with more than 162,000 helmets sold. Locks totaled $3.8 million, a 7 percent gain compared to September of last year.
September sales numbers were compiled by Leisure Trends Group’s RetailTRAK and are based on point-of-sale data from 319 specialty bike shops nationwide that make up LTG’s retail panel. The market research firm then projects total sales for the industry based on this representative sample.
For a breakdown of dollar sales by category, click on the link above.
