BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Rebecca Morley catches up with The Electric Bike Shop to talk physical and online retail and the challenges facing the electric bike industry
This piece first appeared in the July edition of BikeBiz magazine – get your free subscription here
Are customers still buying on the high street? Is it still where cyclists look to purchase their next bike, or are they doing more shopping online now? This is what a survey last year aimed to find out, asking if specialist bike retailers are continuing to see the benefit of having physical high street stores over a pure e-commerce business model.
The survey, by retailer The Electric Bike Shop (TEBS), said shops in fact are still seeing the benefit, with 67% out of 236 people deciding to purchase their latest bike in-store at a specialist cycle shop instead of online.
So what successes and challenges has the retailer had so far this year, and what could we hope to see in the future, for both them and the industry? “It has been a very strong 2024 so far for The Electric Bike Shop,” said Lee Kidger, company lead. “In late 2023 we spent a significant amount of time building on the previous strategy, having to make some tough decisions on the future strategy.
“This, alongside a very specific sales and marketing plan, has allowed The Electric Bike Shop to outperform the market (using the Market Data Services for reference) in all areas we focus on. We see the market being very disrupted – but are using this to our advantage to continue to grow.”
The Electric Bike Shop has seen growth YoY ever since its inception in 2017, said Kidger, with no sign of that stopping. In fact, the growth in 2024 is “bigger than ever before”.
“We believe that The Electric Bike Shop is the largest independent electric bike only retailer in the UK,” Kidger continued. “We must continue to educate consumers on the benefits of electric bikes. Adoption of this in the UK is still low, compared to European countries. We need education, investment, and infrastructure improvements to further develop the market to bring more people into riding electric bikes.”
‘We continue to be committed to physical retail – this will never change’
On the current retail environment, Kidger said: “The landscape of what a customer wants continues to change, so as a business we must adapt to the changing requirements. We see significant online metrics grow month on month, mainly through the marketing activation we are doing – which we believe is where customers are starting their purchase journey.
“This is in most industries, certainly built out of the changing landscape – however it is not the only way to communicate with our customer base.
“We are totally committed to a national coverage of physical locations to support customers with electric bikes. This is a key part of our business strategy; we will be located where customers need us to be.”
Store openings
The Electric Bike Shop has also opened in some new locations recently, with its tenth store opening in Nottingham last summer. This followed a busy several months for the retailer, with its previous opening in Cardiff marking its first store in Wales. Other locations across the UK include Birmingham, Gloucester, and Uckfield.
“Currently we have 10 locations,” explained Kidger. “Will we have more? Unclear now but if our customers demand it, we will grow accordingly. Customers really enjoy the physical element of buying an electric bike. We see that with our online purchases, over four in five customers who transact online come to our stores to collect their bikes.
“They also desire physical support, which is why we are very proud of our customer service alongside our 4.7 out of five on Trustpilot. Whether this is having their free 6-8 week service, or utilising our long term service plan offering we see them really enjoying having somewhere physical to go.”
So what are TEBS’ expectations for the year ahead, both for them and the industry as a whole? “The market continues to be challenging, this is clear to see,” said Kidger.
“High inventory levels at a brand level across the world has meant brands have specific strategies. This is causing market disruption, and the value of an electric bike has come down in price, due to this competitive nature of the industry currently. This can be felt from a retailer perspective too – various business strategies are being deployed, most probably based on the specific business’ needs and requirements.
“Everyone knows the longer-term benefits of an electric bike. As an industry, plus outsiders, need to continue to highlight the key benefits of the electric bike for use in the masses. Fiscal stimulation is required. We have the Cycle to Work schemes which have been very important for adoption, albeit some challenges for use with certain sections of the population, but a nationwide, or localised, price support scheme for greener travel is needed also. This has benefited European countries majorly such as Germany or France.”
‘The market continues to be challenging’
Kidger said The Electric Bike Shop will continue to be at the forefront of the electric bike market, with its specific strategy of supporting the customer wherever they would like to research, buy and service their electric bike. “We continue to be committed to physical retail – this will never change. It is so important.
“In times like this there are always going to be winners and losers, that is business. We believe The Electric Bike Shop is set up to be on that positive side of the current climate.”
Kidger continued: “A key part of 2023 and into 2024, as well as before this, has been the investment into the longer-term future of The Electric Bike Shop. This includes capital investment in new physical locations, strategically placed to make sure our customers can find us when they want to shop online.
“Not only the physical locations have had investment, but majorly tech infrastructure has also been invested in – from website architecture to cloud based data warehouses. This all too time, money and focus in 2023.
“This investment was in excess of seven figures, which is substantial, however it is required to make sure the business delivers on its goals. 2024 starts the ball rolling, with the business ahead of its strategic plan as it continues to strive towards the goals.”
