Feb
9
1.5 Billion Reasons Cycling is Important to Wisconsin
Filed Under Cycling, Industry News, Interbike | 2 Comments
Graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies concluded in a recent study that the annual impact of recreational cycling on the state’s economy is $1.5 billion. For a state that is the home to influential bike industry companies such as Trek Bicycles, Pacific Bicycle, Saris and Planet Bike, this shouldn’t be surprising.
Aside from the impressive number reached, I believe that the importance of this research is that it is a rare analysis of the role that cycling plays in a region’s economy. If we can’t win the argument for cycling with some skeptics based on all the well known benefits of the activity itself, then maybe we can win on its economic significance. And with the state of unemployment, currently, in the US, the figure below from the report has particular value:
In all, bicycling supports an estimated 13,193 jobs in the state.
I married into a family with strong ties to Wisconsin and am very familiar with “God’s Country,” as they lovingly refer to it. It truly is a beautiful place to ride a bike, and non-residents who spend over 6.4 million days a year cycling in WI seem to agree. I bring this point up to emphasize that this report focuses on the impact from recreational cycling, though it does seem to touch on the benefits of replacing short car trips with the bicycle. The report also includes some recommendations to increase bicycle use.
Another interesting figure from the report that will appeal to industry members is that the report quotes the “economic impact of manufacturing, sales, & services” to equal just under $594 million. Considering that that amount includes Trek’s, Pacific’s and all other manufacturers’ business plus the sales of all of the state’s bicycle retailers, does that sound small to anyone or is it about right? I’m curious because the only real reference I have for Trek’s sales would be to compare them to Specialized’s. Back in 2008, an article and video interview with Specialized’s Mike Sinyard on the CNN Money website mentioned that he had grown the company he began in an eight foot wide trailer into a $500 million a year business. I would assume Trek to be very similar in size if not a bit larger in sales than them. And Pacific is no slouch themselves in the sales department, so I would arrive at a noticeably larger total figure guesstimate. Am I wrong?
And in closing, lest you think that all is rosy for cyclists in Wisconsin, if you read the comments section of any of the articles written about the study in the state’s newspaper sites, you’ll see the typical anti-bike attitude we all seem to encounter, unfortunately, whenever bikes are described in a positive way.
You can read the full report here on the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin website in PDF format.
Feb
3
Retailers: Why aren’t you a Google Favorite Place?
Filed Under Attendee News, Industry News, Interbike | 6 Comments
As a retailer, you’ve no doubt come across the name Yelp. If you are a retailer that is very active online, then you are very familiar with the consumer reviews website. You’ve possibly even developed a mild love-hate-frustrated-pull-you-hair-out relationship with the site and its contributors*. Heck, even retailers who are not active online without even so much as a token website for their businesses (yes, they still exist) probably have presences on Yelp. In lieu of your own website or activity in any of the online social communities, sites like Yelp become your de facto online brand. To trot out the old reasoning to get active and establish your online brand, the conversation about you is happening – the only question is whether you are a part of that conversation.
That conversation is about to get a bit louder with Google’s recent entry into the Yelp territory. Aside from the obvious impact that Yelp has on the brands that are discussed on their site, Yelp’s business model has proven to be very lucrative. And Google wants a piece of it.
In typical Google fashion, they are adding their own innovative touch to an existing concept with their Google Place Pages and even newer Favorite Places services. Just the search market share that Google commands alone gives pause for concern. Just envision all those searches for bikes and accessories that begin on Google and end up on a Google Maps page with a list of local retailers down the left side – each one with a 1-5 star rating and list of reviews from customers.
With all the talk about the impact that social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have on businesses, you may want to consider that managing and monitoring your online presence on services like Google Maps and Yelp are arguably even more important to a brick-and-mortar retailer.
Recently Google launched Favorite Places, a service that seeks to further highlight popular local businesses and help promote its existing Places service. In the announcement, Google said that they have “identified over 100,000 businesses in the U.S. as “Favorite Places on Google” based on Google users’ interaction with local business listings,” and will be sending out special decals for placement in the storefront windows. This physical element of an online service is nothing new as Yelp provides similar labels to businesses, but Google is taking it to the next level by adding QRCodes to each that allow people to scan them with an appropriate smart phone and instantly access all the information available about that business. You may have noticed QR or similar codes appearing more frequently lately such as this one:
These codes are becoming increasingly popular, although much more slowly than in places like Japan where they appear everywhere as easy ways to get more information via your cell phone or mobile device. I worked for a Japanese company in the past and all of their business cards now have small codes on them that contain contact information. Here’s a link to an QR Code generator if you’d like to play around with them (like I did above).
Curiosity piqued, I tried searching to see if any bike shops are listed as a favorite place. Unfortunately, only one popped up. The lucky (and popular) shop is Coventry Cycle Works in (of course) Portland, Oregon.
Such local consumer review and popularity services are only going to become more popular and prevalent and a bigger influence on your retail customers’ behavior. Add emerging sites like Foursquare and Gowalla to the list of online location-based services and trends to be aware of as a store owner. With the growing capabilities of mobile devices, look for this data to continue to guide shopping and buying decisions – even while they are standing in your store. Just remember to keep using your good old-fashioned customer service and people skills on them. That rule never changes.
If you’re a retailer reading this, have you seen the effect of these services on your business yet? Have you been active in monitoring and responding to that community?
One last thing, the first person to decode my QR Code above wins a pair of Sock Guy Interbike socks. Just right the answer in the comments below and make sure to enter your valid email address in the right spot.
* And by “contributors” we really mean your current and (very vocally) former customers, don’t we? Remember that you and your employees have had the opportunity to interact and influence each of these reviewers on Yelp. Don’t forget that every customer that walks through your door is a potentially a very influential reviewer!
Feb
1
New York Times on the Business of Electric Bikes
Filed Under Cycling, Gear, Green Efforts, Industry News, Interbike | 8 Comments
While making breakfast for the kids in the morning and preparing their lunches to take to school, I listen to the radio. More often than not, it’s set to NPR. You know: news, weather, little tidbits on what’s going on in the world while the oatmeal cooks and the eggs are boiling. Between slicing up a banana and buttering some toast, I heard the words “electric bicycles” come from the speakers. Ears perked, I moved a bit closer, but it was only a brief mention of the growing importance of electric bicycles in China, with a passing comment that while in China there are currently 120 million ebikes cruising the streets, we bought “only” 200,000 of them last year here in the States.
“Interesting,” I thought to myself and made a mental note to use it as a reason for a post here. Later, while skimming through the most popular articles area in the New York Times app on my iPhone during lunch, I saw that a piece on ebikes was in the top 10.
“An Electric Boost for Bicyclists – Born in China, Electric Bikes Gain a Toehold in the West” is the article featured in the Global Business section of the February 1 edition of the Times. Confirming the high popularity ranking, there are already 95 comments to the piece as of this writing.
The article by J. David Goodman is worth a read and features comments from some industry notables such as consultant Jay Townley and ebike expert Ed Benjamin who is quoted as saying that ebikes are a “gift from God” for bike makers. Sure seems like the industry is treating them like they are.
Proving that there’s always something left to learn, here are a few things I learned:
- Electric bicycles are not officially permitted on the streets of New York.
- While producing far fewer emissions, a typical Chinese ebike goes through five batteries in its lifetime – each containing 20 to 30 pounds of lead (!). Ouch.
- Two distinct types of bikes are emerging as their popularity grows: the very bicycle-like pedal-assist in the US and Europe and the more scooter-like variant in China.
- Government planners are seeking to address the challenges that the increase in ebikes on the streets are causing traditional cyclists: do they belong in bike lanes/paths?
And again I ask, considering that Best Buy is taking on the category, that specialty bicycle retail has a general lack of enthusiasm toward them (described here in a previous post), and that many traditional cyclists not exactly embracing the concept (according to the article), who will own the electric bike retail channel going forward?