TRENDSPOTTING


PHOTO BY SHANE ROUNCE ON UNSPLASH THE WINDS OF CHANGE


We don’t have a crystal ball, but we do have an analyst with a few ideas about the bike industry’s fortunes in 2025. Mark Sutton explores and ranks some potential outside factors that could come to better or backfire against the trade in 2025


Affiliate revenue: Indie shops can get a slice of the pie


Many in the bike trade may associate this with the deals pages that invariably serve up listings with major online competitors only. Well, the mood music is changing and more independent


bike retailers are cottoning on to the work primarily driven by Avelon, a new affiliate platform that is making an effort to do the hard work for indie businesses and get them set up as a potential link provider for publishers. Why would you want to do this? Well your customers,


one way or another, will probably browse online before they end up buying.


40 | January 2025


When it comes to things like electric bikes, demos are generally the best way to sell, but nonetheless, increasingly they’re being bought up online too, so casting your net a bit wider, for next to no time investment, is worth doing. This is especially true if you have a handful of unique brands in stock that publishers occasionally touch on. Here, editorial staff will be looking for a way to collaborate on sales of these items and if you’re providing a link then your shop can be carried in buyer’s guides too. Yes, there is a catch, a commission on the sale, but you


get to control this. Of course, if it’s a popular product competed heavily for, a higher commission makes a more attractive proposition.


www.bikebiz.com


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