City Cycling 101:Selling to a New Urban Bicycling Market
Mike BenningtonGrant McLean
Drivers to Promote Cycling
Lake Sagaris, 2012
Bicycle Sales Trend In Canada
Bicycle Sales - Market Channels
Bicycle Sales - Market Channels
Shift towards Pavement bikes
Bicycles for pavement riding have increased in sales.
Mountain bikes no longer the dominant product category.
Competition for the Enthusiast Customer
Cycling Participation Trend
Participation Frequency
The “hardcore” frequent cyclist is the minority type of cyclist.
Canadian Participation
Urban Cycling Participation Trends
Downtown Toronto Cycling mode share
Cyclists in North American cities often spend more money per capita than drivers and transit users:
In Toronto and Portland, after pedestrians, cyclists are responsible for the largest monthly per capita spending within a particular area.
-OTREC, 2012; TCAP, 2009; 2010
In New York’s East Village – where bike lanes are in place – cyclists top all groups, including pedestrians, in monthly per capita spending.
-Transportation Alternatives, 2012
Bikeportland.org
Data Sources: City of Toronto Open Data 2012 and Transportation for Tomorrow Survey, 2006 Emily Watt, 2012
Montreal Downtown Cycling
Bikeportland.org
source: Godefroy and Morency, 2012
Participation Summary
New cycling Opportunities
• Urban• Young riders• Female cyclists• New Canadians• Moving up
Changing Transportation Behaviour
Word on the Street
What’s your local bike store?
Traditional Marketing - Appeal to Enthusiasts
Experiential Marketing - New/Potential riders
Experiential Marketing - Engage
● Get out there!
● Unconventional
● Fun
● Music
● Food
● Social events
Experiential Marketing - New/Potential riders
BUT…
Who has the time and resources???
Attracting New Cyclists through Partnerships
Local Independent Businesses
Be a community catalyst and co-produce events to mix customer
bases.
● Share resources
● Cross pollinate
● Create experiences
Attracting New Cyclists through Partnerships
Photo courtesy of Dandyhorse Magazine
Organizational Partnerships
Curbside Cycle, 2012
ACKNOWLEDGE
On The Sales Floor
Curbside Cycle, 2012
On The Sales Floor
QUALIFY
DKNG Studios
Curbside Cycle, 2012
ENGAGE
On The Sales Floor
Curbside Cycle, 2012
On The Sales Floor
LEGITIMIZE
Linusbike.com
GET THEM RIDING!
On The Sales Floor
smithratliff.com
Conclusion and Take-Aways
1.Opportunity for IBDs
2.Understand and accommodate Barriers
3. Change your sales approach