2020 sales data records staycation surge in boat sales

New sales data released by Boats Group reveals a surge in demand for boats and other watersports craft during 2020, says British Marine. UK new and used (unit) boat sales grew 9% in 2020, which represents a reversal of the 8% decline in boat sales seen in 2019 due to slowing global and domestic economic growth.

3,544 new and used boats were reported (to the Boats Group) as sold in the UK in 2020. This represents an estimated 80% share in total UK boat sales revenues, generating £250m in revenue – a revenue growth of 19% compared to 2019.

This growth, says British Marine, reflects increased demand for boats across virtually all vessel types and size ranges, but particularly among more expensive boats worth over £100,000, unit sales of which were up 18% compared with 2019 unit sales.

After an initial sales slump of 40% between March and May in 2020, with sales inhibited by the UK’s first national lockdown, sales of new and used boats rebounded rapidly in the summer. The impact of the ‘staycation’ effect was felt from June to the end of December, as boat unit sales grew over 50% compared to the same period in 2019.

Following the release of these boat sales trends up to December 2020, British Marine members can now access monthly data for 2021 onwards via an online dashboard. This, says the trade organisation, will help provide regular market intelligence.

“Last summer we were seeing evidence and hearing regular news about the staycation effect and boom in sales for leisure marine businesses, however I am delighted that these anecdotal stories are now backed up with the empirical data and figures,” says Lesley Robinson, CEO of British Marine. “The sales data is welcome news at a time that has been, and will continue to be, challenging for every business.”

“The analysis made available through this initiative with British Marine is drawn from data supplied to Boats Group from hundreds of professional brokers and dealers here in the UK,” says Alastair Walton of Boats Group. “It follows a huge surge in traffic to our portals, and is great news for the industry as a whole. Digital marketing stood up to last year’s challenges and is now, more than ever, today’s proven leading strategy for selling new or used boats.”