- August traffic (+46% YoY) and listing views (+66% YoY) signal late-summer sales ahead
- Boat leads stay hot (+123% YoY) as shifts in leisure, travel and routines spill into fall
- Boats Group’s soldboats.com database shows August boat sales increased +22% YoY
Boats Group’s latest data from the Boat Trader, YachtWorld and boats.com marketplaces continue to show significant metric increases YoY, offering another source of validation that boating interest continues to cruise. In fact, August’s traffic (+46% YoY) and increased listing views (+66% YoY) hint more late-summer sales are ahead.
First-time boaters are largely to thank for the sustained flood of leads last month (+123% YoY) and for the extended selling period beyond the season’s peak. A closer look at historically smaller age brackets of new boat shoppers reveals growth – in fact, people 18 – 24 years old contributed approximately 130% more new users in August when compared to last year and the 65+ age group also saw strong growth at 52% compared to 2019. Overall new visitors climbed 55% YoY last month.
The increased shopping trends spanned all vessel categories in August and many new and experienced boaters took the plunge and bought a boat. Boats Group’s soldboats.com database shows August boat sales increased +22% YoY.
As an industry, considering all the new boaters of all ages and backgrounds who purchased a “COVID boat”, we cannot ignore what having this new customer base means in terms of developing more diverse marketing and communication, new training programs and service offerings. Maintaining the marine industry’s reputation for strong relationships is more important now than ever before, and already, some new boaters are making decisions whether or not to stay in the sport. Designing timely resources and committing to customer follow-up will be the critical keys to our success in retaining this surge in interest for years to come.
>> See Full Report
For more information, contact Jenny Burkett, press@boats.com