Hunting is a way of life for many outdoor enthusiasts, and many of them use off-road vehicles in their pursuits. As the hunting supply retailer, the consumer’s modes of transportation in the field can bring an extra advantage to your bottom line with just a little planning. More and more frequently, hunters rely on their ATV or UTV to get them into the hunting property as well as to manage food plots or maintain the property they hunt. Using these machines every season means that regular service will eventually be needed, and adding small items to your countertop or making room on a shelf can lead to options for the off-road consumer. Some would prefer to buy from local shops instead of visiting a dealer, and the impulse buyer will pick up maintenance items when they see them. This is an open opportunity for additional profit. You might also find ways to help accessorize these vehicles by simply adding product to your shelves.
Finding Shelf Space
Obviously, the first thing to consider is just how much floor plan you can devote to additional products in your shop. First and foremost you are a hunting retailer, and it might or might not be fair to the core business to take up valuable shelving where the latest hunting technology could be located. However, if you want to take advantage of the additional business, you may decide to create more shelf space instead of replacing items on existing shelves. Be creative with product placement and the types of products related to the ATV/UTV rider. Keeping this in mind, your sales counter might be the first spot to offer up a little taste or test run to see if your regular customers will bite on the future offerings. This leads us to the next subject.
Letting the hunting consumer know that you have product that might directly relate to their off-road needs is important. As you know, if they do not see it or there is no direct line of sight to these products, they may never even know you carry them. This is where signage and some education for your sales staff might help familiarize these customers with the new offerings. Up-selling from a situationally aware associate can be a great way to offer something new to the customer by simply telling them that it is available. ATV and UTV products are no different than a better tree stand in this regard.
Maintenance Products and Smalls
What would an off-road enthusiast who hunts look for or simply pick up while in your hunting store? Carrying simple products such as fuel stabilizers, heated grips or even waterproof phone storage pouches can be very productive, as the display boxes are small and can be moved around easily. Not to mention, they are inexpensive in comparison to larger items.
Other products like tire plug kits or even tow straps will remind the consumer of something they really need for the next trip. Even offering a first aid kit that is compact enough for a glove box or storage compartment on an ATV would be wise. A safety-minded hunter might purchase these items even if they don’t own an off-road vehicle. Most everyone has suffered a flat tire that could have been plugged on their vehicle, and fuel stabilizers can be used in cars or trucks as well. Universal products that appeal to the power sports consumer and hunter alike are definite wins.
Let’s not forget about protective items like eyewear or gloves. Eye protection during work days or even while driving off road is important, and many will use gloves when handling a fresh harvest or when riding their machine. This is especially true in the winter months.
Larger Products
Here is where the game gets a little trickier, and you will need to consider the retail space you have even more. Items like small LED fog lights or rack-mountable gun clamps are directly related to your business, and although the space required to add these to the floor plan is a little larger, the return could be worth the effort. Many ATV/UTV owners will carry a rifle or bow of some kind for hunting, and giving them a way to do this safely is also providing a service to the entire industry. ATV rack-mounted gun clamps can double as bow carriers, and bed- or passenger-compartment-mounted gun scabbards for the UTV owner give them confidence that the new deer rifle they just purchased from you is going to survive the ride to the stand.
One thing to consider is that large plastic or poly gun scabbards take up a lot of space, but having one set with the option to order more if the customer desires could be a good route. Let’s not forget the tools that are sometimes carried into the stand or used to clear trails around their lease. These same clamps come in various sizes and can serve many uses during the season. For example, clamping a small axe or limb trimming saw to the ATV/UTV for those work days.
When you look at the pre- or post-season work that has to be done around a hunting lease, you might find that items like rack baskets or even a product like a small receiver hitch-mounted harrow or seed spreader could be a great investment for a consumer. These products do take up more retail space, but are valuable even so. If you already sell standalone feeders, chances are the retail space may be ready for a small hitch-mounted spreader. The company making your standalone feeder might actually manufacture that ATV/UTV specific product. Finally, let’s not forget storage and the use of a compact ATV cover when the season has ended, or riding would be halted for a few weeks. Covering the ATV or UTV that sits in the weather ensures that the seating as well as overall appearance of that vehicle greatly benefits from this. Consumers who value their investment are always looking for ways to protect it.
Finding what your specific customers will buy is as simple as educating yourself in the community area you are anchored in. Ask those regular customers casual questions about their off-road experience, how they use their machines and what they might purchase outside their machine’s dealer if they found it elsewhere. If you have a large agricultural community, you will find more of the off-road power sports owners will use their ATV/UTV for both work and harvesting wild game, thus increasing service intervals required to maintain the rig. It only translates to even more potential profits for you the store owner.
About the Author
Rick Sosebee is an avid outdoor enthusiast and has been writing about the sport of off-roading in the ATV/UTV industry for more than 18 years. Living in Dawsonville, Georgia, Rick enjoys the hunting and fishing lifestyle as well as any chance he can get to explore in his UTVs.
