Following a challenging year in 2024, rural lifestyle dealers are maintaining an optimistic outlook for business in the year ahead. According to the 2025 Rural Lifestyle Dealer Business Trends & Outlook report, the majority of dealers are forecasting revenues to be as good or better in 2025 compared to last year. That said, while 2024 revenues didn’t live up the dealers’ forecasts for the year, 84.9% of dealers did report they were profitable in 2024. When it comes to which products dealers expect to have success with in 2025, ATVs and zero-turn mowers topped the list.
Despite the recent interest rate cuts the Federal Reserve announced last fall, rising interest rates once again topped the list of dealers’ concerns. The rising cost of new equipment and low sales margins also top issues weighing on dealers’ minds for the year. Dealers’ wholegoods inventory turns held relatively steady in 2024 compared to 2023.
