Boat dealer same-store sales up in March

March was another good month for boat dealers, with same-store sales up 5.3 percent over 2015.

That’s according to the latest report from CDK Global Recreation, which is based on data from users of the company’s Lightspeed software. While short of February’s 25 percent growth, it was the third month in a row of year-over-year revenue increases.

Sales were up in all categories, with the service department posting the largest growth, up 9.7 percent. Service department revenue has been particularly strong for the last two years, with sales up 21 of the last 24 months.

Parts and accessories sales for the month were up 5.3 percent over March, the second month in a row of revenue growth after seven months of decreases.

Unit sales were basically flat for the month, increasing only 0.4 percent for the month after a 28.3 percent increase in February, perhaps indicating that sales were pushed forward with mild weather earlier this year. It was the third month in a row of year-over-year unit sales growth.