RV Industry Resilience: Strong Growth Amid Pandemic Challenges
Despite initial setbacks in wholesale shipments, the RV and camper industry experienced a significant surge in retail registrations as Americans sought safe outdoor escapes during the pandemic. This trend is expected to continue in 2021, with increased interest in RV travel and camping activities. RV dealers have reported positive business trends, with a notable increase in first-time buyers driving industry recovery.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author.If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
You are allowed to download the files provided on this website for personal or commercial use, subject to the condition that they are used lawfully. All files are the property of their respective owners.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
An Almost Unstoppable Industry Few industries benefited so much from the pandemic as RVs and campers, although wholesale shipments during March, April and May 2020 decreased significantly YOY: -20.3%, -82.1% and -29.5%, respectively. As more Americans sought an escape route from the pandemic, June, July and August 2020 became the best three-month period ever for retail registrations in the US and Canada: June 70,400, +40.7% YOY; July 70,806, +27.6% YOY; and August 56,096, +14% YOY. The trend continued into September and October, with 46,763 September registrations (+29.9% YOY) and 40,467 October registrations (+17.5% YOY). Despite a slow start to 2020, the RV Industry Association (RVIA) projected a 6% YOY increase for all of 2020.
Americans Are Still Ready to Escape Millions of Americans were ready to escape their homes during the pandemic for safe outdoor activities. According to MMGY Global s December 2020 Travel Safety Barometer, 75% of survey respondents said it was safe to travel by personal vehicle. According to RVIA data published during June 2020, the RV actions Americans planned during the next 12 months were: take an RV trip 18%, research more RV information online 18%, purchase an RV 11%, visit a dealer 12% and plan to rent an RV 13%. The interest in RVs is expected to continue into 2021 as RVIA forecasts total shipments increasing 18.7% YOY to a total of 490,300 to 515,400 units. If the total exceeds 500,000, then it would only be the second time during the industry s history.
Travel Trends MMGY Travel Intelligence reported in its December 2020 Travel Intentions Survey 67% of respondents said they were more likely to travel by personal car during the next six months, twice as much or more of public transportation, which is good for the RV industry. Of the respondents to the November 30th survey, 30% said they were likely to take a leisure trip during the next six months, three points more than the October survey (27%). Another positive trend for the RV industry is the largest percentage (44%) said they would visit a local, state or national park. In its 2021 Travel Trends Report, RVShare found Yellowstone National Park was the top RV destination during September 2020.
Dealers Couldnt Be Much Happier The RVBusiness/Wells Fargo July 2020 survey of RV dealers reported 38% (the largest) said their business was ahead more than 15% compared to 2019, with another 26% stating it was ahead 15% or less and only 27% said their business had declined. Interestingly, 26% scored the negative impact of the pandemic at a level 3, 4 or 5, with 5 being the most negative impact, but 50% scored the benefit of the surge in consumer demand during late April a 5, and another 24% a 4. Of particular importance for dealers and the RV industry is the 57% of survey respondents who said the significant increase in first-time buyers was a huge factor for the industry s recovery, with another 38% characterizing it is as a moderate factor.
RV and Camping: The Way to Go The KOA October 2020 report (September survey), The Growth of Camping Amid COVID-19, found 21% of all leisure travelers said camping would be their first planned trip once pandemic restrictions are lifted, and 36% of those who identified themselves as campers. Of those people who were new campers during 2020, 27% said they were very likely to continue RVing, which was tied for the largest percentage for those very likely to continue deluxe cabin camping. The largest percentages of campers (38%) and prospective campers (28%) said they were interested in glamping as a 2021 camping experience and, as has been the trend, 45% of Gen Xers and 42% of Millennial campers were most interested in glamping.
The Rental Market As indicated in the table above, RV rental is a major option for many prospective campers and RVers. So much so, RVShare reported in its 2021 Owner Report 14% of RV owners purchased a vehicle during 2020 intending to rent it for financial gain. Undoubtedly, this was a driving factor for the 75% increase of RV owners who rented their vehicles during 2020, compared to 2019. Plus, 35% of surveyed RV owners paid the entire price tag of their RV with rental income. Of the surveyed RV owners who rent their vehicles, 60% had more bookings for fall 2020 and winter 2020 2021 and 26% said they had bookings through March 2021, which is typically an RVing off-season.
Advertising Strategies With so much interest in RVs as a means to escape during the pandemic, dealers must essentially continue their robust advertising and promotions to engage with prospective RVers who were waiting until 2021 to enjoy the lifestyle. Dealers will find it beneficial to emphasize the rental option, especially appealing to younger adults and families with children. Offer an incentive, such as a grocery gift card, to first-time renters. Because motorhome customers have well-above- average incomes, selected TV programming, such as news, golf, tennis and financial news, are where to engage with this audience efficiently and effectively.
New Media Strategies Inviting a very satisfied young-adult customer/RV owner to act as the dealer s influencer can be a low- cost method to interest like-minded young adults with constant social media posts on Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Create short introductory videos of new vehicles and accessories with sales staff serving as hosts and post on social media. Dealers can use their Websites, social media pages, e-newsletter and text messaging to promote the glamping concept, which typically attracts upscale consumers. Share information/visuals of local glamping locations and their amenities.
