The RV industry will recover from the COVID-19 crisis, a leading analyst says, but it won’t be easy — or overnight.
Longtime industry analyst Dr. Richard Curtin, director of the University of Michigan’s Survey Research Center, led an RVIA webinar yesterday to discuss how the pandemic’s affect on consumer confidence will impact the RV industry.
“I believe the strong attachment to the RV lifestyle will ultimately prevail,” Curtain said, “but the road back to record setting sales will be slow and bumpy.”
The recovery of the RV industry hinges consumers’ ability not just to purchase but to actually use RVs, he said.
Because people who use RVs enjoy the experience of meeting other RV owners at campgrounds, he said, the success of the industry will depend on the reopening of campgrounds and other elements of RV life.
Curtin spoke about the potential shift in RV consumers’ attitudes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and also about how long the pandemic might last. He said he expects the industry-wide downturn to last through at least the remainder of the year.
“What we are more likely to see is an extended ‘U’ where the downturn exists through most of this year and starts to improve slightly and then significantly in the next year,” Curtin said.
He said consumer preferences have already changed, in terms of how much people are willing to spend and how much they hope to save for retirement. Curtin said RV manufacturers and dealers will need to work with all facets of the industry in order to spur a comeback, including local governments.
“Over the long run these actions will enable a much larger and more vibrant market for RVs to develop,” Curtin said.
RVIA leaders reached out to industry professionals this past week to invite them to the webinar, and said they hope to host more discussions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming weeks.
