E-Bikes for the Australian Market

E-BIKES FOR THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET
Executive Summary
The concept of e-bikes is taking the world by storm as manifested through the rise in sales. This trend has been observed since 2019, around the same time that COVID-19 was first reported various movement and physical interaction restrictions were implemented. However, the pandemic is not the only reason for the growing e-bike popularity. On the contrary, the need for physical exercise and sentiments towards vehicle emissions are also driving sales. The Australian market is no different since the purchases across the cities have increased significantly. The country has all the necessary characteristics of a lucrative market for new entrants considering that the current competition is not yet cutthroat, which provided opportunities for entrants to build a strong brand. Digital marketing approaches will be the most indispensable tools due to the nature of the market and the potential of such channels as social media.
Market Opportunity
The market for bikes in Australia has never been better and more lucrative, especially with the advent of e-bikes. The popularity and the consequent rise in sales were observed as early as 2019, but the year 2019 and 2020 saw a major increase in sales. With the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forcing people to isolate and keep distance, bikes have become the best alternative to public transport, especially for the short commutes (Keoghan, 2020). E-bikes are now increasingly produced within Australia, but a high percentage of the e-bikes are imported into Australia. This means that there is a rapidly growing market even for foreign businesses willing to take advantage of the hype around e-bikes. According to Kennedy (2019), people purchasing bikes are not merely doing so for the sole purpose of transport. On the contrary, bikes are used for exercise and as a solution to the vehicle emissions problem. Different region have different volumes weekly cycling as illustrated in Figure 1 below:
Figure 1: Weekly cycling volumes across Australia (MetroCount, 2021).
The main opportunities for e-bikes include consumers purchasing them for personal use. Additionally, the rise of e-bikes has also led to the emergence of new industries or new applications, which present more opportunities. For example, e-bike tourism in such regions as New South Wales (NSW) offers bike tours to individuals, most of whom seek the experience before committing to purchasing their own (Bicycle NSW, 2022). The tours are majorly intended for fun, especially guided tours where guides hope to show the tourists larger areas over a short time. This makes a good case for marketing the e-bikes to tourism organizations and destinations, especially nature parks or trails. The market for e-bikes is expected to continue growing, which means that now is the best time for a company to venture. The rationale is that a business entering the market now will have time to build a strong brand before the market gets saturated and it becomes increasingly difficult for new entrants.
The most important aspect for marketers is the growing popularity of online sales of e-bikes in Australia, a trend observed across the globe. Currently, there exists an ideal supply chain infrastructure in Austral...