Cycling Insight maps consumer mood on key trends with new service
A new data and research driven project dubbed Cycling Insight has launched in a bid to map consumer trends, starting with analysis of Covid-19 buying habits.
The research project comes from Angus King, who also also runs cycle route website Cyced and was formerly a three-year employee of British Cycling.
King told CI.N that the gap he believes exists for the cycling industry at present lies in interpreting data and better understanding the consumers that generate it.
“I started Cycling Insight to drive the industry into becoming more data driven. Having worked in the trade for three years at British Cycling and having run Cyced for four, I knew through business interactions and keeping a close eye to the industry that more could be done to shift away from anecdotal opinions and instead provide hard data cycling trends,” he said.
The service is initially free with sign up and already offers trends and insight about real cyclists and their behaviours over time. In one example of a snippet that could assist stores in managing resource, King found that 43% of cyclists are currently less inclined to visit a physical store at present, though 41% are buying more cycling gear during the Covid-19 health crisis.
“That’s a cue for retail in particular to demonstrate safety precautions in their store and to ensure their online presence is well optimised for the increase in eCommerce demands,” says King.
Further trends from the debut Coronavirus Cycling Report illustrate that 66% of cyclists are cycling more since lockdown started, while 19% have taken up indoor cycling.
“The information Cycling Insight seeks to provide could help businesses determine topics like when is the right time to be focusing on indoor cycling; what the demand for e-Bikes looks like online; and is bikepacking a niche you should market to,” adds King.
Those signing up for the report will also join the weekly newsletter, within which Cycling Insight will analyse web search demand around a particular topic, comparing against third-party data, such as CyclingIndustry.News own market report, where possible.
Looking to the future, Cycling Insight could grow beyond the UK, King tells CI.N, with Europe and the USA likely markets the service will explore once the UK arm is proven.
“This is a service and a community; one that will be shaped around the industry expert’s needs,” he concludes.