RVT.com, an Internet marketplace for new and used RVs for sale, reports that its RV shopper traffic increased 25 percent this January compared with January 2017, and that RV buyer leads were up 16 percent.
RVT.com reported that its website had 1.6 million visits in January from RV shoppers in the U.S. and Canada. Unique RV consumer visitors totaled 787,000, up 15 percent from January 2017.
“2017 was a record year for the RV industry and 2018 is projected to be even better,” said Shawn Friesen, vice president of RVT.com. “Millennials and Baby Boomers are driving this growth, plus we are seeing far more RV consumer buyers shopping RVT.com because of our aggressive search engine optimization, far-reaching social media marketing, mobile-friendly format and more powerful, yet simplified RV shopping experience.”
According to the RV Industry Association (RVIA), RV shipments were up 17.2 percent in 2017 over the prior year, with travel trailers accounting for 73 percent of towable RV units sold. Travel trailers are the top RV category searched on RVT.com, followed by Class A diesel and Class C motorhomes.
Friesen said that the site saw the most significant RV search traffic increases in the Class B and C categories, with searches up 18 percent and 17 percent, respectively, for January.
The RVIA reports that nine million households currently own an RV, the highest level ever recorded.
The RV industry has seen a 214 percent increase in RV shipments over the past decade.
RVT.com has 20 million annual consumer visits, featuring 126,000 new and used RVs for sale by dealers and owners, and currently showcases inventory for 930 RV dealerships in North America.