Julie Walsh, Account Manager and Marketing Strategist from the Workstand Marketing Agency Team, joins the podcast to talk about successful strategies for sales success during the 2025 holiday season. Julie has also published a new blog post with even more details and additional resources to help you grow sales in a challenging and competitive market.

The high-level tips are:
1. Look through the eyes of your customers
If your homepage feels a little out of season, revamp your website for the holidays with a homepage takeover.

2. Make shopping easy
Shoppers prioritize convenience when purchasing online.

Simplify things by bundling content and scheduling it through the end of the year with pre-built content like Cyber Week, Holiday Sale, and Last-Minute Gifts.

3. Win local search campaigns
Corner your local cycling market with Google Ads. Shoppers often look to Google first for desirable products—get your inventory at the top of search results so it’s always top of mind.

4. Stay top of mind on all channels
Staying connected with your customers is key to keeping them engaged through the holidays and into the new year.

Don’t forget the power of traditional mail, too. Sending a physical holiday postcard or flyer to your customer list adds a personal, memorable touch that stands out in a digital-heavy season.

5. "Set and forget” customer communication
When you don’t have time to plan out email campaigns, you can still keep in touch with customers by sending out automated emails after they’ve made a purchase with Workstand IQ Loyalty.

6. Leave it to us
There are plenty of ways you can take the pressure off, we have everything you need to get your site ready for the busy season.

Be sure to email your questions to [email protected]. We read all emails sent and we look forward to hearing from you.

If you're a Workstand client with questions about your subscription, email [email protected] or call 303-527-0676 x 1. If you are not currently a Workstand client with questions about how our programs work, email [email protected].

Find Us on LinkedIn
Ryan Atkinson, President + Co-Owner
Mark Still, Business Development

We also publish Around the Workstand on our YouTube channel if you'd like to watch while you listen. Here is our Around the Workstand playlist.

If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode of Around the Workstand or if you have ideas for new topics we can cover, schedule a time to meet with Mark Still here or email [email protected].

Key Accounts Advisor, David Martinez, works with Workstand merchants to improve many aspects of in-store and online sales execution to grow sales while increasing margin. Inventory management is an important part of David's work with bike shops.

As we’ve brought on more dealers to the Digital Advisor Services program, some trends have emerged, offering useful tips for other stores. Obvious, you say? If they are obvious to you, that’s great, but they come up often enough that we think they are worth covering. What may not be obvious is that we’re talking about both in-store and online sales. 

• Curating your product assortment
  • Listen and learn from  your customers, staff, and community
    • What are customers asking for that you don’t have?
      • Bonus tip: Supplier Sync as an indicator of interest
    • Products your staff actually use - Your staff will enjoy selling items they actually use
    • Consider ancillary products - Are you in a beach town and do lots of rentals?  Offer beverages, towels, sunscreen, etc.
  • Curate around your brand/focused categories (MTB, road, e-bike, family) - it’s easy to be a roadie store that also sells MTB and not take the extra step for what isn’t your primary focus, but it matters
    • MTB’ers need gloves, helmets, tires, sealant, and colored pedals
    • Roadies love nutrition, sunglasses, and computers
    • E-bikes: mirrors, bells, baskets, battery chargers, phone mounts
    • Family: fun helmets, bells, horns, burley trailers, 
  • Buying is important, but sell-through is what matters most
    • Monitor your aged inventory and strategize a plan for markdowns
    • Take notes on what is working and what’s not working.  Don’t make the same mistakes season after season.  
      • How many different brands of black shorts/bibs do you need?
    • Does your assortment/levels align with your floorspace
      • Maintain as little backstock 
        • Minimizes shrinkage, theft, and aged inventory
      • How many of ‘X’ fit on a hook on your floor

Bonus Topic

• 2nd tier e-bike brands
  • The market is FLOODED with these brands.  
  • Margins can look attractive, but brand recognition is low, so you and your staff really need to believe in the product
    • Online sales can be difficult because of low brand awareness
  • Service parts can be difficult to get, causing a bad customer experience

Be sure to email your questions to [email protected]. We read all emails sent and we look forward to hearing from you.

If you're a Workstand client with questions about your subscription, email [email protected] or call 303-527-0676 x 1. If you are not currently a Workstand client with questions about how our programs work, email [email protected].

Find Us on LinkedIn
Ryan Atkinson, President + Co-Owner
Mark Still, Business Development

We also publish Around the Workstand on our YouTube channel if you'd like to watch while you listen. Here is our Around the Workstand playlist.

If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode of Around the Workstand or if you have ideas for new topics we can cover, schedule a time to meet with Mark Still here or email [email protected].

It's time again to review the data and metrics from the Workstand platform and talk about what we can learn from sales across our platform. 

• August Workstand platform metrics
  • Ecommerce sales saw another month of double-digit growth on Workstand. 
  • Online order volume was the strongest it’s been all year, with a YOY increase of 8%, with 20,459 orders being the highest volume of any month this year. 
  • Sessions saw another month of decline at -11% (assumed from AI search adoption), but revenue per session remains strong at +24%. 
  • For the first time since February, the typical dealer did not show growth. Instead, platform growth was driven by high-volume sellers. 
  • We don’t like to see that number because our typical dealer tends to be predictive of the overall market numbers we’ll see from PFB within the coming weeks. 
  • We don’t see any changes in category sales trends that I’ve commented on over the last several months.
• Google search data
  • Online research for “best bike” at 2022 levels
  • By that measure, demand might be stabilizing, even if unit and dollar sales volume overall, as measured by People For Bikes, is still down, a promising sign
  • Searches containing “bike shop” continue multi-year decline
  • We’re talking 2005 levels!
  • That doesn’t mean bike shops can’t thrive, but you need to connect with customers in a more modern way
  • You have to win Google searches for products! You NEED ecommerce. 
  • There will be no “return to normal” in this metric. Retail has changed.
  • This is an alarm bell metric that bike shops need to adapt to if they want to meet the consumer demand that’s recovering

Be sure to email your questions to [email protected]. We read all emails sent and we look forward to hearing from you.

If you're a Workstand client with questions about your subscription, email [email protected] or call 303-527-0676 x 1. If you are not currently a Workstand client with questions about how our programs work, email [email protected].

Find Us on LinkedIn
Ryan Atkinson, President + Co-Owner
Mark Still, Business Development

We also publish Around the Workstand on our YouTube channel if you'd like to watch while you listen. Here is our Around the Workstand playlist.

If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode of Around the Workstand or if you have ideas for new topics we can cover, schedule a time to meet with Mark Still here or email [email protected].

Matt Lolli came to Workstand after a long career working in successful bike shops. Matt works with brands and suppliers who want to use Workstand technology and services to support local bike shops in growing sales and better serve their customers.

Here’s a high-level overview of Brand & Supplier services that we’ll be discussing in detail later in the episode. 

• Why do brands and suppliers choose to engage with us? 
• What is in it for merchants? 

Catalog Enrichment

• Cornerstone of our service - adds products to the Workstand library
• Reduces work for dealers - allows them to devote more time to what they’re good at
• Free for brands & suppliers

Price Integrity

• Updates your pricing (MAP + MSRP) across our ecosystem with a single file upload to correct accidental pricing violations 

Supplier Sync

• Allows dealers to display an expanded inventory assortment they don’t have room to stock, or are sold out of, that is available in a supplier’s warehouse. 

Supplier Fulfillment

• Allows dealers to capture sales transactions online and pass the fulfillment process to their suppliers.
• Suppliers get more sales activity out of their existing network of dealers, and by leveraging their logistical excellence, get products into the hands of customers faster & more efficiently.

Buy Local Now

• Product location integration that connects ready-to-buy consumers on a brand’s consumer-facing website with stocking dealers nearby.
• Retailers need not be a subscribing hosted dealer to be included in the search results (Free BLN Accounts) 

Buy Local Now PRO

• We offer brands a twice daily report that shares dealer’s stocking levels down to the SKU level (QOH).

 Partner Pages

• Workstand can build marketing campaigns using a brand’s assets to promote and amplify product launch, national campaign style sales, evergreen brand pages, and more.

Wrap up

• How can brands and suppliers get involved? Email [email protected]
• What should individual merchants do if they work with a brand that isn’t working with us yet but should be? Tell the brands to reach out to Matt!

Be sure to email your questions to [email protected]. We read all emails sent and we look forward to hearing from you.

If you're a Workstand client with questions about your subscription, email [email protected] or call 303-527-0676 x 1. If you are not currently a Workstand client with questions about how our programs work, email [email protected].

Find Us on LinkedIn
Ryan Atkinson, President + Co-Owner
Mark Still, Business Development

We also publish Around the Workstand on our YouTube channel if you'd like to watch while you listen. Here is our Around the Workstand playlist.

If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode of Around the Workstand or if you have ideas for new topics we can cover, schedule a time to meet with Mark Still here or email [email protected].

Ryan has again been on the move. Visiting Workstand team members and merchants in Oregon recently. He'll be here in Colorado soon!

• July Platform metrics
  • Total online sales last month showed a recovery from the slowing trend of May and June, which was a likely hangover from the pre-tariff burst in March and April. 
  • Total order volume and units sold were relatively flat, but higher average order value drove results. 
  • Higher prices on mountain bikes had the largest impact based on volume and higher price points. 
  • It’s hard to isolate whether import taxes and inflation impacted this number, but more apparent in children’s bikes. 
  • Unit sales for children’s bikes were down 31%, and prices were up 34%. Sport Performance road continues the strong performance for the year. 
  • Overall site traffic continues to be down, but add to cart and conversion rates remain high. This combination is possibly due to increased zero click search behavior, and a higher percentage of traffic intent on buying. 
  • Merchants across categories are growing online, not just high volume sellers. 
  • Ecommerce sales across the board outperforming in-store sales in the IBD channel could play into our favor in selling websites for the remainder of the year.
• May Total IBD Retail Sales Results 
  • Total bike industry retail sales (including mass merchants) was down 3.3% in May.
  • Prices are increasing at mass merchant retailers more than at independent bike dealers, but it’s still too early to tell the effects of tariffs on bike prices. 
  • The report highlights that sales in most categories peaked in March, with sales softening in April and May. 
  • But shop services have remained relatively steady and electric bikes have remained in the positive growth category.  
• Policy
  • De minimis exemption eliminated
  • Import taxes “more permanent”
    • If this policy does stay in place, then several countries the bicycle industry relies on for production are heavily impacted
    • The administration also announced it is raising tariffs on Canada to 35%, 
    • China was exempted for the moment, the temporary agreement with China was set to expire but the exemption was extended
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics data concerns
    • Political involvement in firing the head, nominated a partisan for the role
    • Need reliable data for business decisions, very concerning

Be sure to email your questions to [email protected]. We read all emails sent and we look forward to hearing from you.

If you're a Workstand client with questions about your subscription, email [email protected] or call 303-527-0676 x 1. If you are not currently a Workstand client with questions about how our programs work, email [email protected].

Find Us on LinkedIn
Ryan Atkinson, President + Co-Owner
Mark Still, Business Development

We also publish Around the Workstand on our YouTube channel if you'd like to watch while you listen. Here is our Around the Workstand playlist.

If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode of Around the Workstand or if you have ideas for new topics we can cover, schedule a time to meet with Mark Still here or email [email protected].

Mark is joined this week by Matt Viara, leader of the Workstand paid Google ads team. What are paid ads? How do we help bike shops participate in paid Google programs? What are the costs and benefits? We talk about all of that!

We give a high-level overview of our paid ads programs and touch on the 4 offerings that we’ll discuss in detail during the episode.

• Why Local and Full Service?
• What is product vs awareness?
• Why do we differentiate in that way?

With that groundwork in place, we’ll move to explaining each program and who should consider them.

Deeper explanation of each program:

• Local Awareness 
  • Help local consumers find you via the most popular general search terms. Great for connecting with local people who don’t have a preferred shop
  • Get top map pack placement via sponsored ads in search results
• Local Product + Local Feed
  • Show people close by that you have the products they are looking for in stock in store
• Product
  • The best way to jump start your ecommerce
  • Target regionally or nationally
• Awareness
  • On top of local Search Ads we can also get the word out about seasonal content, sales, events via Display (image) and YouTube video ads

FAQ:

• Costs of the different programs?
• Are there any setup fees?
• How are budgets determined?
• How long are retailers committed to the program?
• How do we set expectations for results? Dollars, sales growth, timelines?
• How personalized are these programs for a specific retailer?
• How do we deal with serving multiple Workstand merchants in the same market?

You can reach Matt Viara at [email protected] or read more about all of these programs.

Be sure to email your questions to [email protected]. We read all emails sent and we look forward to hearing from you.

If you're a Workstand client with questions about your subscription, email [email protected] or call 303-527-0676 x 1. If you are not currently a Workstand client with questions about how our programs work, email [email protected].

Find Us on LinkedIn
Ryan Atkinson, President + Co-Owner
Mark Still, Business Development

We also publish Around the Workstand on our YouTube channel if you'd like to watch while you listen. Here is our Around the Workstand playlist.

If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode of Around the Workstand or if you have ideas for new topics we can cover, schedule a time to meet with Mark Still here or email [email protected].

Boulder visit

• Doggy happy hour
• Coffee
• Bike ride
• PFB let me work from their office

Upcoming BRAIN article about scheduling software

• Service Appointment Scheduling feature (drop off)
• WorkstandIQ staff scheduling

NBDA State of the Industry webinar reinforces our value

• The recent National Bicycle Dealers Association hosted a webinar with expert guests, with a lot of time spent talking about what successful retail looks like. 
• Turns out our company perfectly matches their recommendations. 
• Speakers were adamant about the need for merchants to have an ecommerce presence.
• You can find the recording on the NBDA YouTube channel.

June Platform Sales Results

• High single digit growth in June, but also continues the downward trend from March/April results of over 25% growth.
• Isolating our “typical dealer”, which removes top performers, June online sales were slightly down. I really want clients to work on getting their website aligned with best practices and engaged with our marketing services like Google Ads. 
• Platform traffic was down significantly in June, but conversion rate, average order value, and revenue per session were up.
• Only a handful of analog bicycle categories showed growth; gravel, full suspension MTB, and BMX. 
• Electric bikes were up in every category
• Helmets and shoes did very well for the month. Helmets are good signals for overall ridership and shoes signal enthusiast riders needing more performance.

April Total IBD Retail Sales Results

• PeopleForBikes released total April sales results showing the total IBD sales (in-store and online reported by Circana) was virtually flat with 2024. 
• The top line sales results were positively impacted by very strong service department sales, +11% for the month. 
• Top bicycle categories continue to be throttle assist electric bikes for transit, leisure, mountain, and cargo. Class 3 electric road bikes are showing solid growth too. 
• Gravel and hardtail mountain bikes showed the best growth in the analog category. 
• BMX bike unit sales were +8% continuing a promising trend largely influenced by younger riders
• Children’s bike unit sales were up slightly overall

Be sure to email your questions to [email protected]. We read all emails sent and we look forward to hearing from you.

If you're a Workstand client with questions about your subscription, email [email protected] or call 303-527-0676 x 1. If you are not currently a Workstand client with questions about how our programs work, email [email protected].

Find Us on LinkedIn
Ryan Atkinson, President + Co-Owner
Mark Still, Business Development

We also publish Around the Workstand on our YouTube channel if you'd like to watch while you listen. Here is our Around the Workstand playlist.

If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode of Around the Workstand or if you have ideas for new topics we can cover, schedule a time to meet with Mark Still here or email [email protected].

Ryan and Mark discuss results from May, with a quick note on the strong March and April numbers that we didn't get to talk about due to Ryan's many travels when we'd normally record an Around the Workstand episode.

We mention this recent episode with our Key Accounts Advisor, David Martinez, and the Digital Advisor Service he's offering Workstand clients

NBDA Summit recap

• A good number of supplier attendees
• Solid presentations
• Don’t know about the May date, stores are busy, but the meeting is valuable
• Finally get Bentonville, so much going on there
• NBDA Summits are great, try to make a 2026 event

May results

• Online sales in May were +17.5%, with order volume +21.5%. 
• Promising sign for the health of the market and online sales at bike shops
• Bike sales did, however, decline in dollars and units, with electric, road, mountain, and BMX showing growth but offset by declines in other categories. 
• I’m still speculating that the early peak of bicycle sales in March and April was driven in large part by consumers attempting to beat tariffs, but new product releases and popularity in the growth categories are also contributors. 
• Overall platform growth is coming across the board from parts, accessories, and apparel. 
• Those are good indicators that people are riding bikes and engaging with cycling. 
• On the whole, the results are outperforming my expectations
• That being said, I don't hear a lot of positives about YTD results when I talk with clients
• Online sales are a bright spot, but in many parts of the country, foot traffic and total sales are down

U.S. Bicycle Production and Assembly Act

• Legislation introduced in Congress this week would eliminate tariffs on components used to assemble complete bikes in the U.S.
• Goal is to create hubs as a step toward frame manufacturing
• Chris Cocalis founded Pivot Cycles and Charlie Cooper with PFB at BLC

Celebrating Pride Month and we'll be close for Juneteenth, but will have an on-call team for support. So, response times may be a bit slower than normal, but still reach out if you need help.

Be sure to email your questions to [email protected]. We read all emails sent and we look forward to hearing from you.

If you're a Workstand client with questions about your subscription, email [email protected] or call 303-527-0676 x 1. If you are not currently a Workstand client with questions about how our programs work, email [email protected].

Find Us on LinkedIn
Ryan Atkinson, President + Co-Owner
Mark Still, Business Development

We also publish Around the Workstand on our YouTube channel if you'd like to watch while you listen. Here is our Around the Workstand playlist.

If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode of Around the Workstand or if you have ideas for new topics we can cover, schedule a time to meet with Mark Still here or email [email protected].

The idea of leveraging catalog-enabled websites and ecommerce to grow sales beyond a retailer's home market is one of the main reasons Workstand has so many bike shops using our platform. In addition to the website platform, Workstand's marketing agency team helps more than 400 stores manage their digital presence and promote their store locally and nationally. As our Key Accounts Advisor, David Martinez wraps all of that technology and marketing know-how up and combines it with his years of experience in successful bike shops to add in-store processes, strategic buying and inventory management, and professional presentation of all aspects of a purchase to elevate local bike shops as effective commerce merchants. Most people think selling online is all about price, but David has proven repeatedly that it is more about high-level execution in buying, inventory management, and customer experience that allows any store to sell more and grow faster.

We talk about all of that in this episode of Around the Workstand and encourage all stores to reach out to David at [email protected] to learn more and enroll in our Digital Advisor Service.

https://workstand.com/bike-shop-marketing
https://marketing.smartetailing.net/products/email-automations-pg197.htm
https://marketing.smartetailing.net/products/google-ads-pg182.htm
https://marketing.smartetailing.net/products/email-marketing-pg207.htm
https://marketing.smartetailing.net/products/premium-content-packages-pg101.htm
https://workstand.com/bike-shop-performance

Be sure to email your questions to [email protected]. We read all emails sent and we look forward to hearing from you.

If you're a Workstand client with questions about your subscription, email [email protected] or call 303-527-0676 x 1. If you are not currently a Workstand client with questions about how our programs work, email [email protected].

Find Us on LinkedIn
Ryan Atkinson, President + Co-Owner
Mark Still, Business Development

We also publish Around the Workstand on our YouTube channel if you'd like to watch while you listen. Here is our Around the Workstand playlist.

If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode of Around the Workstand or if you have ideas for new topics we can cover, schedule a time to meet with Mark Still here or email [email protected].

Ryan Atkinson has continued his travels and brings us the latest in how brands, suppliers, and merchants in bicycle retail are feeling during some uncertain times. There are bright spots and some optimism, particularly among retailers. 

Themes from industry events

1. Bicycle Leadership Conference (suppliers)
2. NBDA Retailer Summit (both) - join the Midwest event in Bentonville in May
3. CABDA West (both)

• Uncertainty among suppliers, optimism with dealers
• Tariff confusion and frustration
• Throttle electric bikes
• Used and pre-owned
• Tap into health/beauty, active lifestyle, prioritize health
• Profitability
• Ecommerce

March online sales performance

• US sales +9% and orders +7%
• CA sales -18% and orders -32% (sporting goods generally -6.9%)
• Dollar growth was fueled by road and mountain bikes, plus the surprise performance of comfort and commuter bikes. Electric bikes had a surprising slump.
• CA non-essential discretionary down, calls from concerned clients
• US consumers getting ahead of tariffs

Cyclingnews article on DeMinimis (Ryan’s rant)

• Bummed how they characterized Bob Margevicius’ testimony
• Bob is a VP for Specialized
• He’s an exceptional representative for our industry on trade issues
• Nobody knows EU, Asian, and US manufacturing/trade as well
• Tireless contributor and just awarded PFB lifetime achievement award
• Author conflated legitimate tariff frustration with DeMinimis
• DeMinimus exemption increased to $800 in 2016
• PFB has lobbied for change since
• Reason for so much cheap product disrupting IBD market
• Cheap D2C electric bikes, cheap helmets and lights on Temu, etc
• Unsafe for consumers, erodes value proposition for retailers, takes away high margin retail sales
• I want to encourage listeners not to spread click bait rumors just because they think the headline gets attention

Be sure to email your questions to [email protected]. We read all emails sent and we look forward to hearing from you.

If you're a Workstand client with questions about your subscription, email [email protected] or call 303-527-0676 x 1. If you are not currently a Workstand client with questions about how our programs work, email [email protected].

Find Us on LinkedIn
Ryan Atkinson, President + Co-Owner
Mark Still, Business Development

We also publish Around the Workstand on our YouTube channel if you'd like to watch while you listen. Here is our Around the Workstand playlist.

If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode of Around the Workstand or if you have ideas for new topics we can cover, schedule a time to meet with Mark Still here or email [email protected].