Pickup sales reached 1,576,875 units during the first seven months of this year, 80% of these being fullsize models. Each one of these new pickup owners represents a potentially new, or possibly repeat, customer for specialty-equipment companies that sell products for these trucks. With that in mind, it helps to know what pickup owners have purchased for their trucks in order to make an educated guess as to what new pickup owners will purchase. The following is a short excerpt from the 2006 SEMA Light Truck Personalization Report, which provides statistics on what parts and accessories pickup owners purchased in the past.
Although many of the percentages of installed accessories experienced minor fluctuations from 1988–2006, there were several products that saw rather large shifts.
- The heavy-duty trailer hitch experienced a 17% increase from 1988–2006.
- Running boards increased by 17%.
- Side window drip guards increased by 20%.
- The spray-in bedliner market increased 25% since 1999.
- Custom/chrome bumpers had dramatically decreased between 1988 and 1999, from 67% to just 6%. However, the percentage jumped to 20% for 2006, indicating that the custom/chrome bumpers might be regaining some popularity.
- The cap/camper shell has progressively decreased in popularity from 1988–2006, with an overall reduction of 20%.
The following table shows this data.
SEMA members can now receive their complimentary copy of the 2006 SEMA Light Truck Personalization Report as another benefit to being a SEMA member. This data-intensive report is filled with valuable light-truck specialty-equipment industry information, and SEMA members can download the report by visiting www.sema.org/research.
Source: SEMA Research & Information Center