Summer Sales Skyrocket in the Wake of COVID-19

While businesses have struggled throughout the pandemic, many are now thriving as some areas begin to reopen. Retailers discuss this boom in sales, and how long it might continue.

WORDS BY ROSA SOPHIA

During the spread of Coronavirus, businesses continue taking precautions to protect staff and clients. Local response varies across the nation. Out of 75 retailers surveyed recently by Mobile Electronics magazine, 53 percent (40 businesses) have said they remained open despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty percent closed but recently reopened, while a small percentage of businesses— about 15 percent—remain closed as of this writing.

Mitch Schaffer of Mobile Edge in Lehighton, Pa. said his business was shut down for a little over two months because Pennsylvania closed all non-essential businesses. “We may have been able to justify staying open because we did Intoxalock installations, but it made more sense to shut down just for the safety of our employees,” Schaffer said, adding that acquiring financial funding through small business programs was a bit of a challenge. “For those of us who had to shut down, that money was a real lifeline.” During the second round of funding, Schaffer said Mobile Edge received financial help to alleviate the burden. The store reopened on May 22.

During the shutdown, Schaffer said the shop was active on Facebook, but not as much as it could have been. “We reached out to scheduled clients and made them aware that the moment we reopened, we’d call them in the order they were

While it’s unclear how long the boom will last, retailers agree it’s time to be prepared for any possibility and to continue looking toward the future.

scheduled,” he said. “We also booked a couple appointments while we were shut down.”

In Anchorage, Alaska, Perfectionist Auto Sound never lost business, though owner John Schwartz focused time and resources on producing face shields for local hospitals. Perfectionist offered contactless drop-off and pick-up. “We only had three or four cancellations, maybe,” Schwartz said, adding, “It’s picked up like crazy.”

Some 12-Volt Shops Are Seeing Record Numbers

While Schwartz said he can’t be sure why sales are skyrocketing, he feels it’s because people aren’t traveling as much. In May, business was up 38 percent over May of the previous year, and June has been even better. Schwartz, who travels a lot himself, said this is the longest he’s been home in three years. “We’ve been doing a ton of RVs and boats because people are out using their toys instead of flying,” he added.

The shop is booked into August, and Schwartz is considering running remote start specials early. “We’re booking so far out that by the time people want a remote start, we’ll be booked out two to three months and it’ll cover the winter months already,” he said, adding that he thinks the increase in business could continue for the entire year.

Schaffer, who is a founder at 1sixty8 media—a digital marketing company that specializes in 12-volt—said many of his clients have also reported increased revenue lately. “Some people were experiencing record numbers,” he said, adding, “And that’s what we’re seeing now.” Schaffer admitted he’d been skeptical at first. “The first week we reopened, we were just playing catch-up with installs we had to postpone. It wasn’t strong at first. I wondered if people were exaggerating about business being so good, but they were right. My vendors, both for 1sixty8 and Mobile Edge, tell me business is very strong for them right now.”

Mobile Edge, he added, has experienced many days so far in June during which the business has brought in five to seven times the amount of revenue it ordinarily does on an average day. “It’s not showing any signs of slowing,” Schaffer said. While the business was usually booked out a couple of days, it is now booked out for about a month. “When we came back, we were only booked out a week and a half or two weeks,” he added.

Wicked CAS closed its doors and switched to appointment-only for about two weeks, which gave the shop time to catch up on larger performance projects.

Although Mobile Edge had to close its doors for a little over two months, business has never been better. Owner Mitch Schaffer, who also works with 1sixty8 media, has heard from many other shops that sales are skyrocketing.

Nazar Demir of Wicked CAS in Kingston, New Hampshire, echoed Schaffer’s conclusions. In fact, Demir said, locking the doors and going to appointment-only for about two weeks due to COVID-19 gave the shop a chance to catch up on their larger performance projects. Additionally, the shop has a license to sell cars and does some mechanical repair work, so it was considered essential and never closed.

“I didn’t notice a drastic increase in business. We were steady the whole time. We specialize in performance cars,” Demir said, “so we have these older Toyotas to be worked on. They’re ground-up engine builds with turbo charge, so we used that time to catch up.” Revenue is up about 10 or 15 percent, he added. “We were booking ahead and we had a backlog of work. If we didn’t have that, we would have been in trouble. I consider myself lucky.”

Schaffer and Demir agreed that people who have been cooped up at home might have decided to treat themselves. “If they were unemployed and collecting maybe more than they made at work, and if they have extra spending money, that could be a factor as well,” Schaffer said.

Wicked CAS also builds and ships fiberglass enclosures all over the country. Demir said the enclosure business picked up, and online sales of these products made up for a loss of car sales. “When you’re a car enthusiast and you’re stuck at home, where else will you spend your money?” Demir said. “One customer who has a Jeep sent me a picture of all the parts he’d ordered online. He had time off, so he wanted to modify his car.”

Numerous Variables Contribute to Increase in Revenue

Schaffer said there are a lot of variables at play, so it’s hard to say why numbers are increasing now. Mobile Edge probably missed out on any benefit from stimulus money since the business was closed for so long, he noted, “But we are selling a lot of audio. A very unusual percentage of our business right now is audio.”

Mike Bartells, president of Extreme Audio in Mechanicsville, Va. stated his business had a small drop-off in sales in

the beginning of the pandemic, but never closed. “We stayed busy making face shields over a couple of weeks and working on side projects,” he said, adding, “We operated as usual from day to day and it got progressively busier, with the biggest spike coming when the stimulus checks went out.”

Most of Extreme Audio’s clientele are older and already do well for themselves, Bartells said. “I don’t think our core clients were very financially impacted by this,” he added. On the other hand, Extreme Audio’s two locations did see an influx of customers who wouldn’t normally have been able to afford the company’s services. Extreme Audio has also seen an increase in customers coming into the store for inexpensive base packages. “They might be laid off and they’re getting extra money on top of unemployment. People who might ordinarily go to Best Buy for something over the counter are coming to us. That’s something we don’t usually see.”

Bartells speculated that it’s likely any disposable income is being shifted elsewhere, since people aren’t dining out as much or going on vacations. Extreme Audio experienced record numbers in May, and the company has been in business for 21 years.

Safety Efforts Increase Amid COVID-19 Spread

While businesses are reopening, efforts to keep everyone safe continue to be paramount. For some businesses, category focus changed. For others, it didn’t. “We considered adding vehicle sanitation as a service,” Schaffer said, “but decided against it. I am not an expert in that field. When we’re dealing with someone who’s coming in with the expectation that if their car is contaminated, we might eliminate that contamination, I just don’t have that training.” However, he added, the team wipes down contact points, uses disposable seat and steering wheel covers and has a standard practice to protect both employees and clients.

Extreme Audio followed standard procedure for sanitizing and wearing masks, according to Bartells. Like Mobile Edge, he said his business also considered adding vehicle sanitization services, but decided against it. “I just doesn’t seem like the clients who are coming in are concerned about it,” Bartells explained. “It could be a market to people who aren’t coming in because they’re concerned, but we’ve been so busy with other aspects of our business that we don’t have time to explore it.”

Schwartz looked at sanitizing from a different angle, advising other retailers to think like their customers. “We offered ionizers for the car that are supposed to kill all viruses and bacteria,” he said. “We haven’t had any customers take advantage of that, but ultimately it helped with strategic marketing.” When potential clients are worried about the pandemic and searching for a clean shop, he said, they’ll look on Google specifically for that.

“A customer might search for a shop using a search term like, ‘What auto shop is sanitized for COVID-19?’ Perfectionist will come up because we have it listed on our website,” he explained. “You have to think like them.”

Wicked CAS is located in a more remote area, according to Demir. He said it’s easy to drive by the shop without noticing the sign, but added that it’s nice for the staff because only serious buyers visit. “Here in New Hampshire, masks were suggested in businesses, but it’s not a law,” he said. “None of our employees were exposed to the virus. We ask customers to wear masks, but we don’t kick them out if they don’t wear them.” Instead, he said, the policy is to ask the customer to step back for their own safety. “We have a counter, so we already have five or six feet between us and the customer anyway.”

Shops Focus On Staying Prepared

Many retailers who are experiencing an increase in revenue are wondering how long it will last. Schaffer said he’s both interested and concerned to see what August and September will bring. He feels business will remain strong at Mobile Edge—but perhaps not as strong as it has been.

“It seems like everyone I’ve talked to is busy, and that doesn’t seem sustainable,” Bartells said. “It doesn’t make sense why we would be busier across the board despite record unemployment, unless it’s because of the extra money and the stimulus payments.” If so, he added, revenue will likely dip down as people return to work or government assistance decreases. Either way, Extreme Audio is ready for any eventuality. He said that while his business is always prepared for the worst scenario, the pandemic has certainly changed how it’s defined.

It’s a wake-up call for many, he said. “Experiencing an influx of business enables us to make sure we are reinforced.” Bartells added that while the company has always had a target amount set aside in the bank in case of any problems, that number has probably doubled from what it was previously.

“I have a phenomenal crew and I don’t want to lose them because I didn’t plan for a stock market crash or even a pandemic,” he said, adding that his focus is ensuring his employees are prepared and cared for.

Demir added that he feels business could be strong for the next six months to a year, but he worries what will come next. “It might drop off,” he said.

Schwartz feels that 12-volt shops will always be relevant, adding that businesses should closely examine every aspect of how they operate and always think like the customer. “How many people complain business is bad, or people want too much?” he said, adding, “They just aren’t being their own customer.”