I walked into a store near our office last week since it was a new account and I usually like to visit new accounts. The first thing I noticed was that they had a bunch of Pink scooters and I thought that was great. They are near a major US University, the students have a lot of buying power. The shop didn't have much of a "destination" idea, but I was going to give the sales manager and the owner my suggestions when I noticed that the female bathroom door was open. I looked inside and I wouldn't have my pet Iguana use that bathroom. I've used cleaner bathrooms in abandoned buildings. The next thing I noticed was that besides the Pink scooter there was nothing in the shop that helped a woman make her buying decision.
There were no helmets for women, no gear, forget jackets. I mean I tried telling the sales manager that women need jackets and he didn't get it.
Last year was a terrible year for the Powersports Industry, but guess what? Female buying power went up. When men shop have you noticed the wife always has some influence on the final decision? So even if the woman isn't paying sometimes she's making the decisions.
If a woman walks into a scooter shop and all she sees are scooters more than likely she will get bored. This is a real challenge keeping a motorcycle shop clean and maintaining the interest of the opposite sex when 98% of shop owners I talk to everyday are men.
So my advice is think what is it women want to see? If you stock gear for men, don't ignore the women. If you need some ideas then start with the basics, clothing, parkas, helmets, gloves. We can help you with some of these ideas, but in the end women want the same accessories as men for their scooter you might just have to present them a little better.
Also clean the bathroom.
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