Cycle finance applications hit £60m in April!
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News
The ACT estimates that applications to purchase bicycles via retail finance in April reached a new all-time high of £60m.
The previous record for the most bicycles sold in a single month through retail finance was made in July 2019, although figures suggest that April 2020 has more than doubled these sales.
In addition to this positive news, market feedback also suggests that cash also flowed through cycle shop tills in the month, with many shop owners being forced to bank more than usual, to keep within insured limits.
Even taking into account this increase in cash it is still unsurprising that there has also been a significant surge in finance applications as thousands of people, including many essential workers, are returning to cycling and seek out the option to spread the cost of a purchase. In many cases this purchase would not have been planned before the pandemic.
His and her bicycles, as well as kids' bikes thrown in too make retail finance a clear choice for those wanting to get the family cycling as one. However, despite the very high uplift reported in the sale of less than £500 MTBs and hybrids, overall transaction levels held up very well, thanks to multiple purchases and the addition of essential safety and security products.
Maximise your margins using different finance offerings
Bicycle sales using interest bearing products were up over 100% in the month. Online finance sales also inevitably saw a bigger increase than instore due to trading limitations arising from the pandemic leading to shops closing or reducing their product and service offerings.
UK retail as a whole recognises how the pandemic has accelerated online trading for the longer term; finance offered through a shop's website has become the expected norm among consumers. The increased popularity of bicycles in the last month has driven finance to become yet more of a necessity as entry level bicycle models have all sold out, leading retailers to upsell to better quality models with higher price points. Here retail finance proves to be invaluable in allowing consumers to purchase at price points that might otherwise have lost the sale.
Click here to find out how to the duration of the loan agreement and the different APR''s affect monthly repayment amounts.
50% off Ride it away POS for the month of May
Raise consumer awareness in your store.
Letting your customers know finance is an option is crucial to growing sales. By simply making a customer aware of finance they will start to look at the affordability of a bike in terms of the monthly payments rather than the cash they have in their pocket that day.
Displaying POS throughout your shop is easy and the ACT offers fully compliant in-store and online POS including swing tags, hanging banners and window stickers.
FOR THE MONTH OF MAY YOU CAN NOW GET RIDE IT AWAY POS IN YOUR SHOP STARTING FROM £1*.
You can also download free web banners for your site by logging in here.
No surprise that finance has boosted the mini cycling boom
Given the current circumstances it's no surprise that retail finance has proven such a boost to the cycling industry's mini boom. Demand for finance is certain to continue into the summer as the Government promotes cycling as the serious transport solution to many ongoing issues, whilst individual incomes will inevitably suffer as the lockdown gradually eases.
Now is the time to take advantage of this opportunity and offer retail finance to your customers instore and online. Find out how you can begin offering Ride it away retail finance now.
Click here for more information.
If you want to speak to a member of the ACT our most up to date contact details can be found here.
*excluding VAT and delivery charges.