INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — Bicycle sales are booming at many central Indiana bike shops as Hoosiers have been stuck at home, looking for new ways to get out and exercise.
"Our March ended up being really, really good," said Scott Helvie, co-owner and chief operating officer of Bicycle Garage Indy. "I think there were a lot of people anticipating being home more often, and things like fitness equipment accessories, dumbbells, free weights, sold out almost immediately in March. Then bicycles just started to take off. Bicycles themselves have been up over double digits in March, April and May."
Nationally, bicycle sales in March were up by 50 percent over last year, according to the market research firm, the NPD Group. Helvie said it's casual bike riders who are driving sales through the roof.
"Most of our growth is bikes under $1,500, maybe even under $1,000 at this point," he said. "Kids bikes and hybrid bikes for riding around the neighborhood, cruising around the Monon Trail, that kind of thing. The numbers are just astronomically high. It's families that want to get out and ride together right around their neighborhoods, things that they can do together that they don't have to go places, and a bicycle is a great alternative for that."
All three Bicycle Garage Indy locations in central Indiana voluntarily closed their doors on March 25, moving to appointment-only sales and service. On Tuesday morning, the north side location opens back up.
"We're reopening the 82nd Street store first, then our downtown store and our Greenwood store will follow in short time," Helvie said. "We're going to limit customers in the store. We're going to set a person limit based on the number of staff we have at that time. We're going to allow one person back to the service department, which is a little closer quarters. And then, we're going to allow people in the store for one available salesperson. So if we have six available salespersons, we will allow six people in the store to shop and browse."
And when your store is 24,000 square feet, that allows for plenty of room for social distancing.