E-bikes getting more popular among female and 25–34-year-old cyclists across Europe.
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News
The annual e-bike monitor by market research institute GfK has found that the 25-34 age group made up a bigger portion of all e-bike customers in the Netherlands in 2023 compared with 2022, whilst in Germany e-bikes enjoyed a growing popularity among women and one-person households.
Over the years, e-bike riders have been getting younger on average. This is common practice in every country after the market acceptance of e-bikes. In the Netherlands e-bikes even became widespread among teenagers when cycling to school. The latest edition of the GfK e-bike monitor shows however that the popularity of e-bike decreased in the age group 18-24 years.
The monitor shows that sales of fat bikes, though, remain limited. Also, the market share of e-road bikes declined, while city and touring e-bikes gained a bigger market share. Dutch consumers are still willing to pay for a good quality e-bike. The average price rose by 18% last year, not solely due to price tag differences, but also due to shifting preferences. The fear of e-bike theft, a common barrier for a high-priced purchase, has increased by 40% in 2023.
The brick-and-mortar store remains the primary channel to go when looking for an e-bike. Consumers in all European countries still think it is important to see and test the e-bike themselves. After an increase last year, the share of the online channel has slightly decreased in the Netherlands. The online share for purchasing an e-bike is relatively low in the Netherlands compared with other fast moving consumer goods. In 2023, over 90% of buyers who visited a store made a test ride. Although test rides are common in other countries, the percentage lags behind the Netherlands. Consumers also prefer the possibility to make their own choices as 75% of them select a multi-brand store. A similar consumer behaviour is reported in Belgium, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden.
While the online market is losing market share in the Netherlands, the share of this channel is rather stable in other European countries. Due to the dominance of large-scale sport retailers and hypermarkets, consumer behaviour in France varies from other European countries. For example, the market share of online distribution is much bigger than in the other European countries which are part of the monitor. Just like last year offline purchases still slightly surpass online transactions in Germany.
For all Europeans, visiting a brick-and-mortar store, plus making a test ride is crucial in the customer journey. Still there are clear differences in the various age groups and the customer journey in other countries compared to the Dutch market.