Are 12V Sales Slowing or Not?

More than 40 percent of retailers we polled online and by phone say that sales have started to taper off from their highs of June and July.

August is typically a slower month than June and July on a normal year.

And even while traffic is off from July, sales are still higher this August than they were last August for many dealers.

For some, store traffic is not as heavy as earlier in the summer, the phone is not ringing every minute as before, the bay is booked out two weeks instead of three to four weeks, but sales are still strong.

In addition, a good percentage of dealers claim the only thing limiting their sales is a lack of product to sell due to shortages.

And still others say the main limiting factor on their sales is neither shortages nor waning consumer interest, but a lack of qualified installers.  Some chains report losing installers who burned out after working around the clock earlier in the summer madness.

Both Freeman’s Car Stereo, NC (7 stores) and Avenue Sound, NY (3 stores) say sales are off by about 10 percent from the peak this summer.

Even though Freeman’s sales are down 10 percent from the peak, its August revenue is up 25 percent ahead of last year and the chain is booking 3 weeks out.

June was the second biggest month in Freeman’s 40 years history and CEO Dave Wall, estimates that product shortages lost the chain about 10 percent of its business.

Custom Sounds, TX, with 20 stores said same store sales increased by 31 percent in July and as of August 24 were up 32 percent over the same period last year, according to President Mike Cofield.

“July is always better than August….And the second half of August is always slower than the first half,” he added.  So the way to figure out a slowdown is to compare year over year monthly increases and for Custom Sounds, they are steady.

At Sound Warehouse, UT, May was the best month in the history of the company.  In June sales were up 42 percent over the year prior and in July they were up 21 percent. August is expected to be similar to July, said Dean Magnussen.

“It’s not crazy busy like someone is walking in every 10 minutes, but it’s still very robust,” he said.

One rep who did not wish to give his name said,  “The biggest thing holding back sales right now is product availability. Especially in under $500 retail Apple CarPlay / Android decks. Store traffic has slowed a bit from the peak, but shops are still VERY busy for this time of year. Display boards at most retail stores look like swiss cheese. I expect September will be very strong as product starts flowing at the end of the month. Expect product shortages through fall.”

Through it all, some retailers say there has been no slowdown, and business is still crazy good.

Tint World of Orlando, FL said sales haven’t wavered from their highs.  “Not at all… We usually see a slow down this time of year with school starting and it hasn’t slowed one bit,” said owner Pete Mueller.

Jeff Cantrell of Jackson Car Audio, TN said “Not here. The boom is not letting up.”