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Making Sense of the Latest Economic, Automotive and Consumer Trends That Will Impact Your Business This Year and Beyond
SEMA COUNCILS AND NETWORKS
darryld
Mon, 02/05/2024 - 12:14
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
SEMA Council and Network Leaders Identify the Trends and Issues Impacting the Aftermarket in 2024
By MICHAEL IMLAY
SERIOUS BUSINESS
The vehicular market segment that industry-watchers refer to as the “powersports” market is, in a way, easier to label than it is to define. What, after all, is the connective tissue that joins such disparate market segments as ATVs and side-by-sides, motorcycles and dirt bikes, snowmobiles and personal watercraft—especially considering that very few of these vehicles are ever used in a “sporting,” i.e., competitive venue?
Millions if not billions of dollars are spent each year on aftermarket automotive products like superchargers, intake systems, carburetors, fuel injectors and more. While the numbers aren’t as big, many of these accessories are purchased for marine use, too.
The products featured are from SEMA Data member companies that have attained Gold- or Platinum-level data, which means that their product data is robust and complete—likely to drive customer purchase decisions. SEMA Data members meeting data scorecard requirements are invited to submit product releases for consideration to enews@semadata.org.
Chris Stewart was walking out of a concert in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2003 when a lowered white Honda Civic ES hatchback caught his eye. He was running a car club for import-car owners out of the house he rented while attending college and thought the car’s owner could be a good fit.
A pattern began to emerge while researching “Your Message Here,” our October 2022 SEMA News article explaining why and how industry professionals should contribute to automotive podcasts as guests: It felt impossible to talk about the marketing potential of appearing on a podcast without examining the virtues of sponsoring one.
It’s a popular nostrum that the COVID-19 pandemic provided the accelerant that enabled the explosion in e-commerce sales that continues unextinguished to this day. Cautious consumers under remain-in-place orders stayed away from brick-and-mortar retail outlets in droves, the story goes, and turned to the convenience of the internet as a shopping and purchasing alternative, turning the conventional point-of-sale business model on its head.