Where Has The Local Bike Shop Gone?
Around 15 years ago there was practically a bicycle shop in every town and village, if not two. Nowadays however a great many have shut their doors and ceased trading, leaving only the bigger companies and shops that sell a range of products such as snowboards and surfboards as well as bikes. So where did it all go wrong for local bike shops and is there any hope for them yet? Lets take a look at a few factors.
Greater number of cars. Everyone can see that cars are much more prominent on our roads than they used to be. Not only do more people own a car but people are choosing to use them more. Does this mean that people are using bikes less though. Halfords, a large chain of shops in the UK that serves both car and bike owners have stated that over the past 10 years there has been a decrease of 10% in the number of commuter and mountain bikes sold. This year just gone however has actually seen the first rise in bike purchases, which maybe a result of financial strain on car owners right now.
Internet Shopping. An increasing amount of product sales are taking place online every day. Bikes are one of those things that you need to ride and get the feel for before you make a purchase. However, despite this, we are still seeing a move away from high street sales and towards sales on the net. According to the top bike retailer in the UK, sales on the internet account for 10% more of the total sales each year since 2000.
Online Trading sites. One factor that has had a big influence is the emergence of trading sites such as the likes of Ebay. Once upon a time people would take their unwanted bikes to the local bike shop and either sell it or trade it in for a new one. These days you can post your bike on advert sites and get responses within hours sometimes. There are now even sites set up specifically for trading used surfboard, kitesurfing gear and mountain bikes etc, such as Extreme Sports Trader and Bike Magic