The Two Problems Killing Powersports Growth (And What to Do About Them)

The powersports industry is facing two problems that are quietly compounding. The first: dealers are losing leads they already have. Industry data shows 30% of inbound leads are never responded to, and 60% of buyers are browsing after the doors close. Meanwhile, the dealers who respond fastest sell 50% more units, and 78% of leads end up buying from the first dealer that responds. The math is straightforward, but most dealerships still don't have a system to close the gap. The second problem runs deeper. The median motorcycle buyer has aged from 27 in 1985 to 50 today, and the under-25 cohort has collapsed from 24% to 8%. Younger buyers expect to research, compare, finance, and purchase online. When that option doesn't exist, they don't walk into a dealership -- they just don't buy. This isn't a marketing problem. It's a distribution problem. This session will walk through both issues with real data, show what dealers are doing to solve them, and cover the practical infrastructure (AI-powered lead response, online checkout with 50-state compliance) that's making it possible. We'll look at what's actually working, including stats on incremental volume, buyer demographics, and the FTC compliance landscape that's adding urgency to all of this.