Last week we wrote about shifts in consumer spending on car audio with regard to tax return money. But how did that affect the bottom line?
Data on the first half of this year says core car audio sales slid about 3 percent in dollar sales to consumers and 5.5 percent in units compared to the first half last year, according to The NPD Group.
That’s a narrower decline in dollars than the first half last year, which saw a 7 percent drop in sales compared to the first half in 2016.
You can see the sales performance over time in the chart below.
The sales results include the following categories:
- Car Amplifiers
- Car CD Changers
- Car Stereo Speakers
- CD Controllers
- In-Dash Stereo Receivers
- In-Dash Video Receivers
- In-Dash Navigation
- Satellite Radio Boxes
| Units Percent Change | Dollars Percent Change | ||||
| 6 Months
(Jan’16 – Jun’16) |
6 Months
(Jan’17 – Jun’17) |
6 Months
(Jan’18 – Jun’18) |
6 Months
(Jan’16 – Jun’16) |
6 Months
(Jan’17 – Jun’17) |
6 Months
(Jan’18 – Jun’18) |
| 4.9 | -4.5 | -5.5 | -1.0 | -7.0 | -3.1 |
The results do not include many categories currently stocked by car audio dealers including remote start, driver safety, marine audio, window tint, powersports audio, radar detectors and more. Many of these categories that are not included are considered growth categories.
Source: The NPD Group, Inc., U.S. Retail Tracking Service, Car Audio, excluding Portable Navigation and Handheld Navigation. Sales are adjusted for 5wk Jan. 2018 vs. 4wk Jan. 2017.
