D
Deleted member 803
Guest
Some of you might think the demand for ebikes in the US is strong and growing. The numbers (albeit difficult to be totally accurate) suggest that the numbers are paltry and a very very small percentage of total bikes sold.
Given that the bicycle market has been relatively flat for over a decade and the number of IBD's continues to fall, the likelihood of increased retail visibility remains a strong challenge for vendors.
Retail is in peril from the manufacturers as well. A recent blurb from Interbike News 2015 shows that more bicycle brands are experimenting with direct internet sales models.
I, for one, believe retail is not the most effective go to market strategy for ebikes and have argued for a direct corporate sales model that has no retail link. The industry is frightened of upsetting the IBD network but the strength of the network is fragile at best and allows for no demand marketing. In fact, the vendors themselves do not have the resources to create demand for product through traditional advertising and rely upon the dealers to generate awareness. A recipe for very very slow growth.
Some of you might argue that post sale support at your local IBD is critical to ebike sale success. Well, even that model is changing as a recent SF Bay Area mobile bike tech service just received over $2M in funding.
I am not in favor of nor opposed to traditional distribution models. Goods and Services delivery to customers is changing/evolving. I advise the ebike manufacturers to pay attention.
Read the quick link below.
http://www.ecycleelectric.com/blog/...14-usa-electric-bike-market-numbers-explained
Given that the bicycle market has been relatively flat for over a decade and the number of IBD's continues to fall, the likelihood of increased retail visibility remains a strong challenge for vendors.
Retail is in peril from the manufacturers as well. A recent blurb from Interbike News 2015 shows that more bicycle brands are experimenting with direct internet sales models.
I, for one, believe retail is not the most effective go to market strategy for ebikes and have argued for a direct corporate sales model that has no retail link. The industry is frightened of upsetting the IBD network but the strength of the network is fragile at best and allows for no demand marketing. In fact, the vendors themselves do not have the resources to create demand for product through traditional advertising and rely upon the dealers to generate awareness. A recipe for very very slow growth.
Some of you might argue that post sale support at your local IBD is critical to ebike sale success. Well, even that model is changing as a recent SF Bay Area mobile bike tech service just received over $2M in funding.
I am not in favor of nor opposed to traditional distribution models. Goods and Services delivery to customers is changing/evolving. I advise the ebike manufacturers to pay attention.
Read the quick link below.
http://www.ecycleelectric.com/blog/...14-usa-electric-bike-market-numbers-explained
