BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Ride it away replaced the long-standing Black Horse retail finance scheme in early spring of 2010, offering reduced subsidies, improved acceptance rates, enhanced operations and free national promotion.
It’s currently available at over 400 cycle shops which account for over a 75 per cent share of the UK’s £30m cycle finance market. With increased annual sales of 91 per cent, compared with the previous scheme, it is an obvious opportunity for all IBDs.
The most successful retailers promote Ride It Away strongly both in-store and online as a flexible sales tool to target specific products, price points or brands, with criteria set individually by the retailer. It is used to up-sell bikes to higher price points and introduce additional accessory sales, increasing transaction values and profitability. Many retailers openly promote Ride It Away as available at certain price points, allowing consumers to make their own up-sell decisions.
Too often finance has been seen as a last resort to close a sale, but promoted strongly and used effectively cycle finance will increase your customer base as well as your sales. In an increasingly competitive market the option to spread the cost is an obvious winner, especially as Ride It Away is not available to the cycle trade’s mass merchants.
Ride It Away also has the edge with its online offering; an integrated finance function that eliminates the need for paper applications. Customers sign agreements on the internet, negating the historic cooling-off period and significantly increasing acceptance levels.
The Cycling Experts’ online shop search, now featured across a growing number of consumer websites, allows retailers to reach consumers totally free-of-charge. The search facility identifies which retailers offer Ride It Away in their locality and what cycle brands they stock.
Ride It Away is one of a growing family of finance products available to businesses in the outdoor pursuits sector provided by ActSmart in partnership with Moneyway. All are available to ActSmart Gold and Platinum members, regardless of turnover, and with peak season fast approaching there has never been a better time to get more involved.
For more information visit www.actsmart.biz/cycles or call us on 0845 618 7256.
