Radar detectors that are custom installed in the car, have the potential to be 20 percent of a retailers’ sales in most geographic locations, said suppliers at an industry gathering last month.
The category is under-penetrated with only about a 5 percent of households owning a detector. Additionally, new red light and speed cameras installed in many cities, are presenting a new opportunity for dealers to sell radar detection.
ESCORT ‘s Everett Morss said a red light camera in his city brings in $80,000 to $100,000 in ticket revenue. “When red light cameras go into a city we see double digit growth [in radar detector sales] in that city. We love them. We hope they put them everywhere.”
Retailer Josh Landau of JML Audio in St. Louis, who led a panel on radar detectors at the Mobile Electronics Show, said installed detectors represent 15 to 20 percent of his shop’s revenue. “If you put in one built-in radar detector system a month for $3,000 that’s over $30,000 a year. That’s a huge lift to the bottom line,” he said.
Panel members, including ESCORT, K40 and Cobra said the category has gotten a bad rap. Detectors of 10 years ago were more subject to false alarms. In many cases, a customer’s last experience with a radar detector was less than great, and he should be informed of the newer models with better performance.
The message was that radar detectors, especially installed models, when presented on the sales floor can be a high profit add-on sale. From the audience a representative from dB South, a distributor based in Atlanta (which sells in 11 states) said, “We talk to dealers who say ‘I haven’t sold a radar detector in years. No one ever asks for them.’ ” But he claimed, “Without exception in 10 minutes, we have a salesman making a crap load of money.” He added, “Red light camera are not about safety. They are about revenue. It’s give us a whole new category of customers to sell to.”
Panel members said smartphone apps to detect traffic cameras are limited in utility because drivers must have their phone out and the app loaded for it to work.
The panel was the first to bring radar detector makers together from several different companies. The panel included Mark Karnes of Cobra, Everett Morss and Brady Siebert of ESCORT and Lynette Tomlinson and JJ Langguth of K40.
Source: CEoutlook
