10 Outdoor Power Equipment Statistics Dealers Should Know About in 2023
The year is coming to a close and the world is feeling a bit more normal than it did last year. After 2021 showed to be a record year in outdoor power equipment sales, many dealers are wondering how much the industry will slow down in the year ahead. How will dealers continue to navigate supply backlogs? What can dealers do to continue to offer top customer service despite staffing challenges?
We surveyed OPE dealers across North America to find out what their biggest challenges will be for the year ahead and how they plan on leveraging technology to increase productivity and efficiency at their dealerships.
1. What are some of the biggest challenges you expect to face in the year ahead?
The biggest challenges OPE dealers expect to face in 2023 are supply chain backlogs (95%), followed by being short-staffed and difficulty hiring new talent (51%). Many dealers were also concerned about parts pricing inflation (35%) and meeting customer demands (33%).
Many dealers are still experiencing a 6-month backlog on inventory and that backlog is set to carry on into the new year. To manage delays to the best of their ability, dealers should maintain frequent and open communication with customers and their manufacturers. They should also look for ways to improve inventory management efficiency, as well as opportunities to upsell service to offset the impact of supply shortages.
Read Next: 5 Tips for Dealing with Supply Chain Disruptions
2. Are you currently using cloud server hosting at your dealership?
Many dealers are finally making the move to cloud server hosting, and for good reason. But according to our survey, 44% of respondents are still not in the cloud. Many dealers still maintain their own on-site servers, but these servers leave their data vulnerable to security and environmental threats.
There are some major benefits to moving your dealership’s server to the cloud, including:
- Greater security against cybersecurity threats like ransomware and hackers
- Server maintenance is performed by a team of IT experts
- Dependable backups and quick uptime following a disaster
- Peace of mind knowing your data is protected, updated, and backed up regularly
Learn More: What is Cloud Computing and How Does it Benefit Your Dealership? [On-Demand Webinar]
3. What online marketing tactics do you use?
If your dealership doesn’t have a digital marketing strategy, 2023 is the year to implement one. Most consumers these days begin their buyer journey online, checking out business websites and reading reviews.
The majority of dealers we surveyed are already using social media ads (82%) and search engine optimization to increase the visibility of their websites (62%). Many dealers are also using display ads to gain visibility on the Google Display Network (48%). Fewer respondents use email marketing (22%) and affiliate marketing (20%) tactics.
A not insignificant 9% of respondents use none of the channels mentioned here.
4. What is your typical response time to web leads (email, chat button, etc.)?
These days, customers expect responses from businesses to be fast. They’re primed (no pun intended) by services like Amazon and Uber. That’s why more dealers are putting a focus on improving response times to web leads.
91% of survey respondents said they respond to web leads via either email or chat button in 1-2 days. Meanwhile, 6% said they take more than 3 days to respond.
A fast response time is important for building trust with your customers. It can be a major differentiator from your competition.
5. Do you use text messaging to send service status updates, marketing promotions, etc. at your dealership?
Did you know you can reduce voicemails left on your dealership phone lines by up to 80% by using text messages to communicate with customers? It’s a lot faster to send and receive a text message than it is to make a phone call.
62% of respondents said they are using text messaging to send status updates, promotions, and other communications to customers. Meanwhile, 26% want to start using text messaging to streamline customer communications.
6. Do you have an online product catalog and if yes, is it up to date?
Ecommerce has been on the rise for a long time now, but the pandemic kicked it into high gear. Now, it’s expected that businesses will have an online catalog of products for customers to peruse. But many OPE dealers we surveyed still have not added a catalog to their website (24%), or their catalog is out of date (20%).
A slight majority of dealers do maintain an up-to-date online catalog (53%) and we can expect to see this trend continue in the year ahead.
7. Do you plan on selling electric equipment at your dealership?
Sales for battery-powered equipment have been trending up for the last five years and that trend is set to continue. In general, we’re seeing a rise in eco-consciousness among consumers. But on top of that, battery-powered equipment is also quieter and saves you money on gas.
The majority of dealers we surveyed have already jumped on this trend, with 82% already selling or planning on selling electric equipment. A smaller portion of dealers said they may sell electric equipment (13%) while only 4% said no, they don’t plan on selling electric equipment.
8. How often do you update your OEM price lists?
Commodity costs are on the rise and many manufacturers are releasing updated price files more frequently to stay on top of it. That means dealers will need to update their price files more frequently as well, to be consistent with manufacturers. When your price lists aren’t up to date, you’re leaving money on the table.
According to our survey, the majority of respondents update their price files every 6 months (69%). But 25% of respondents said they only update their price lists yearly, while 6% said their update their lists even less frequently than that.
We recommend automating your price list updates to ensure that you are working with the most current numbers. Ideal’s partnership with key manufacturers makes this possible.
9. What areas of your service department would you like to automate?
The industry is still experiencing a labor shortage, particularly when it comes to finding skilled technicians. On top of that, with inventory backlogs lingering into the year ahead, many dealers have relied on ramping up their service to keep revenue flowing. That means service teams need to do more without necessarily being able to increase their resources.
This is where software solutions that automate manual and time-consuming processes can have a big impact on the efficiency of your service team. We asked dealers which areas of their service department they would like to automate, and they said:
- 63% service status updates
- 63% warranty submissions and unit registrations
- 47% service scheduling
- 47% parts ordering
Learn More: How to Optimize Your Service Department Processes Using Technology
10. What are some of the biggest challenges you have with your website?
We’ve spoken quite a bit in this article about the importance of your dealership’s online presence. But the fact is, many dealers, especially smaller family-run shops, have limited resources for website maintenance.
We asked dealers what some of the biggest challenges they face when it comes to maintaining their websites. They responded:
- 59% outdated inventory
- 57% can’t change the content easily
- 35% don’t have websites that customers can place orders on
- 30% have low website traffic
- 19% have an outdated website design
- 8% can’t communicate with website visitors
A couple of respondents said that they don’t even have a website, due to the expense of maintenance and too few hits.
Digital marketing is a fairly new venture for many dealers but in this day and age, it’s essential. Dealers should explore how they can use search engine optimization and display ads to drive more traffic to their websites. Drag-and-drop website hosting platforms like Squarespace or Shopify can also make website design and updates more manageable.
For faster and easier communication with website visitors, dealers should consider adding a “Text Us Now!” button to their websites.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Want more OPE industry trends and statistics?
The Outdoor Power Equipment Industry Trends Report compiles insights from surveys, OPE industry experts, and hundreds of OPE dealers across North America. Read the report for:
- Industry statistics
- Consumer trends
- Sales & marketing trends
- Service trends
- Technology trends
- Dealer security trends
