Around the Workstand

Bicycle Retail Industry Review for July 2025 Workstand data and May 2025 People For Bikes data

Workstand Episode 104

Ryan has again been on the move. Visiting Workstand team members and merchants in Oregon recently. He'll be here in Colorado soon!

  • July Platform metrics
    • Total online sales last month showed a recovery from the slowing trend of May and June, which was a likely hangover from the pre-tariff burst in March and April. 
    • Total order volume and units sold were relatively flat, but higher average order value drove results. 
    • Higher prices on mountain bikes had the largest impact based on volume and higher price points. 
    • It’s hard to isolate whether import taxes and inflation impacted this number, but more apparent in children’s bikes. 
    • Unit sales for children’s bikes were down 31%, and prices were up 34%. Sport Performance road continues the strong performance for the year. 
    • Overall site traffic continues to be down, but add to cart and conversion rates remain high. This combination is possibly due to increased zero click search behavior, and a higher percentage of traffic intent on buying. 
    • Merchants across categories are growing online, not just high volume sellers. 
    • Ecommerce sales across the board outperforming in-store sales in the IBD channel could play into our favor in selling websites for the remainder of the year.
  • May Total IBD Retail Sales Results 
    • Total bike industry retail sales (including mass merchants) was down 3.3% in May.
    • Prices are increasing at mass merchant retailers more than at independent bike dealers, but it’s still too early to tell the effects of tariffs on bike prices. 
    • The report highlights that sales in most categories peaked in March, with sales softening in April and May. 
    • But shop services have remained relatively steady and electric bikes have remained in the positive growth category.  
  • Policy
    • De minimis exemption eliminated
    • Import taxes “more permanent”
      • If this policy does stay in place, then several countries the bicycle industry relies on for production are heavily impacted
      • The administration also announced it is raising tariffs on Canada to 35%, 
      • China was exempted for the moment, the temporary agreement with China was set to expire but the exemption was extended
    • Bureau of Labor Statistics data concerns
      • Political involvement in firing the head, nominated a partisan for the role
      • Need reliable data for business decisions, very concerning

Be sure to email your questions to podcast@workstand.com. We read all emails sent and we look forward to hearing from you.

If you're a Workstand client with questions about your subscription, email support@workstand.com or call 303-527-0676 x 1. If you are not currently a Workstand client with questions about how our programs work, email info@workstand.com.

Find Us on LinkedIn
Ryan Atkinson, President + Co-Owner
Mark Still, Business Development

We also publish Around the Workstand on our YouTube channel if you'd like to watch while you listen. Here is our Around the Workstand playlist.

If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode of Around the Workstand or if you have ideas for new topics we can cover, schedule a time to meet with Mark Still here or email mark.s@workstand.com.