BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Embarrassingly, in the UK we don’t have any kind of bicycle sales statistics, so knowing which brands sell the best, or which month is strongest for bike sales, or even if there is such a thing as the ‘Wiggo effect’, are all unknown. Of course you know your sales stats, but what about everyone else? How do you compare?
Whether that situation will ever chance is a moot point, but while we wait for hell to freeze over, eBay has released some snippets of info about the bike sales that take place on its vast online marketplace.
eBay’s top five bicycle brands
- Specialized
- Cannondale
- Colnago
- Campagnolo
- Pinarello
Most popular month of bike sales?
August, according to eBay, which saw a whopping 208 million searches for cycles in 2013.
Is there such a thing as the ‘Wiggo/Froome effect?
eBay says yes, citing the example of the 200% increase in searches for cycle brand Rapha during the 2013 Tour de France.
10,000
That’s the number of businesses – large and small – that are selling bicycles and cycling accessories through eBay.
Cycle style profile
eBay is privy to relatively extensive details about millions of users and reveals that the bikes people search for say alot about them – shoppers who searched for a ‘single speed’ bike are more likely to also search for ‘vintage glasses’ and ‘polaroid cameras’, compared to those interested in a ‘town bike’ who also look for ‘Barbour’ jackets or ‘Emma Bridgewater’.
“The likes of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome have encouraged Brits to get on their bikes and create an industry now worth billions," said Tanya Lawler, VP UK, eBay Marketplaces. "The Tour de France starting Yorkshire will no doubt boost interest in cycling even further. All this can only be good news for the nation’s bike retailers and indeed over 10,000 businesses – large and small – are selling bicycles and cycling accessories through eBay.”
