GfK has launched a new panel covering the U.S. independent tire channel. Capturing data representing over 34,000 individual retail tire outlets nationwide, the new panel is GfK’s 30th worldwide and represents 62% of all replacement tires sold in the U.S.
Based on the company’s in-house data gathered the full years of 2015 and 2016 from U.S. tire outlets, GfK found that sales for the U.S. replacement tire market are flat overall. They also found that 265/70/17 is the best-selling tire size, and light-truck tires have posted modest but significant growth over the past two years.
Neil Portnoy, managing director of POS tracking for GfK North America, will share preliminary U.S. data this week at the Clemson University Global Tire Industry Conference on Hilton Head Island, S.C. His presentation, “Find New Roads: Using Sell-Out Data to Make Fact-Based Business Decisions,” will take place on April 21.
“Tire replacement dealers and manufacturers in the U.S. need a window onto their total channel – to guide crucial decisions about stocking, pricing, marketing, and product development,” said Portnoy. “In the absence of broad, consistent data to drive their businesses, manufacturers and dealers alike have missed opportunities to maximize sales – and diminish losses. I am excited to share preliminary insights with leaders of the tire industry and begin the conversation about how best to analyze the data and grow the channel. This is a transformative moment for the independent tire channel and the tire industry.”
GfK has been collecting POS tire data globally for almost 20 years; in the U.S., it is now capturing sales information for the Pet, Optics, and Tire retail markets.
