Grapevine, Texas – The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) went to the Mobile Electronics Retailers Association (MERA) KnowledgeFest with the results of a limited survey of 12-volt specialists as part of a plan to eventually quantify the sales volume of the 12-volt specialty channel as a whole.
For the initial survey, the CEA randomly sampled 100 12-volt specialists who are members of MERA and said the results apply only to the 100 dealers, not to the entire specialty channel. However, the CEA plans to “ultimately move forward with a sample of 200 to 300 MERA retailers [that] we will weight to represent the total 12-volt [specialist] market,” CEA industry analysis director Steve Koenig told TWICE.
With the initial results, the CEA’s goal was to “simply show the industry the type of analysis we can create from this previously untapped sales channel and start to see what shape the data can take,” Koenig said.
In the initial results, the CEA found that for the year ending June 2012, the average 12-volt sales volume of polled specialists was $276,000, excluding install revenues, and five product categories on average accounted for 60 percent of sales, excluding installation revenue. The survey also found that 47.7 percent of installs were done in vehicles from the 2001 model year and older.
Among the 100 polled specialists, aftermarket head units accounted for an average 24 percent of dollar volume, with the average selling price being $229.19. Speakers were the next-highest volume category, accounting for an average 10.8 percent of surveyed dealers’ revenues, and the average selling price was $130.05.
Amplifiers accounted for the next-highest volume level, at an average 9.9 percent of revenues and a $299.16 average selling price. Video and navigation systems, including PNDs, accounted for 8.2 percent of revenues on average, and the average selling price was $671.56. Remote-start systems came in fifth, accounting for an average 7.1 percent of revenues, with an average selling price of $102.10. All revenue figures excluded installation.
As for the vehicles in which the products are being installed, the CEA found that almost half of installation on average went into vehicles from model year 2001 and older. Vehicles from 2002 through 2007 accounted for 33.3 percent of installs, and 2008 throug h2010 vehicles accounted for 12.7 percent of installs. Newer vehicles from model years 2011 through 2013 accounted for 6.3 percent of installs.
Among the surveyed dealers, the CEA also found that five vehicle makes accounted for 57 percent of installs on average, with Chevrolet and Ford holding the largest shares. Chevrolet accounted for 17.7 percent of installs, and Ford accounted for 17.6 percent. They were followed by Toyota (8.7 percent), Dodge (8.2 percent) and Honda, 5.1 percent.
In another finding, the CEA found that surveyed dealers’ volume was pretty evenly spread out throughout the year, with the first quarter accounting for 26 percent of dollar volume, the second quarter accounting for 24 percent, and the third and fourth quarters accounting for 23 percent and 28 percent, respectively.
