Exclusive data: 3 out of 4 dealers saw service dept. sales drop in May

Exclusive data for Outdoor Power Equipment magazine readers from Constellation Data Solutions, a division of Constellation Dealership Group, shows Same Store Sales results in the service department at outdoor power equipment dealerships for the month of May.

The composite data is pulled from dealerships that use Constellation’s Ideal and c-Systems DMS brands. The Same Store Sales data compares May 2020 vs. May 2019 at 1,164 independent servicing OPE dealerships.

On average, OPE dealers in the U.S. chalked up negative growth in the service department during May, with sales in the service department down 11 percent vs. May 2019. The Northeast had the smallest decline, with service department sales down 6 percent. In the Midwest, service revenue declined 9 percent. The South (15 percent decrease) and West (20 percent decrease) saw a more precipitous decline on average in the service department.

Here’s a breakdown of the percentage of dealerships that had an increase or decrease in service department sales during May 2020 vs. May 2019.

West — 24 percent up; 76 percent down

Midwest — 28 percent up; 72 percent down

Northeast — 23 percent up; 77 percent down

South — 31 percent up; 69 percent down

U.S. — 28 percent up; 72 percent down

States in each region are as follows:

Midwest — IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI

Northeast — CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT, CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT, WV, CT, MA, ME

South — AL, AR, DC, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, PR, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV

West — AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY

— Dave McMahon, editor, dmcmahon at epgmediallc.com