Same-store sales, consumer confidence drop

We publish these same-store sales reports to show both a snapshot and a trendline of retail sales activity at OPE dealerships in North America. For February 2025, the U.S. as a whole saw a 14% decrease compared to the same month last year, coming off a similar decline in January. 

• Dealers in Canada experienced a 21% increase overall with a 31% gain in Parts sales and an 18% gain in Wholegoods.  
• American dealers spread the losses evenly and consistently across Parts, Service, and Wholegoods sales. 
• Tractor dealers, overall, fared even worse than OPE dealers in the U.S., but better than OPE dealers in Canada.

Service sales, cumulatively, was the weaked department, with an 18% decline in the U.S., set against and a 2% gain in Canada. Wholegoods sales in U.S. dealership were off by double digits in most regions of the country, with the Northeast enjoying (?) the smallest rate of decline in wholegoods.

Service

Parts

Wholegoods

Reasons for the nationwide decline? Economic uncertainty with the new presidential administration and the threat of on/off tariffs. Consumer confidence dropped sharply in February, according to the Conference Board, which reports regularly on the Consumer Confidence Index. 

Consumer confidence drops sharply

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index declined by 7.0 points in February to 98.3. The Present Situation Index — based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions — fell 3.4 points to 136.5. The Expectations Index — based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions — dropped 9.3 points to 72.9. For the first time since June 2024, the Expectations Index was below the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead. The cutoff date for preliminary results was February 19, 2025.

“In February, consumer confidence registered the largest monthly decline since August 2021,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist, global indicators at The Conference Board. “This is the third consecutive month-on-month decline, bringing the Index to the bottom of the range that has prevailed since 2022. Of the five components of the Index, only consumers’ assessment of present business conditions improved, albeit slightly. Views of current labor market conditions weakened. Consumers became pessimistic about future business conditions and less optimistic about future income. Pessimism about future employment prospects worsened and reached a ten-month high.”

February’s fall in confidence was shared across all age groups but was deepest for consumers between 35 and 55 years old.

Ideal Computer Systems companies have developed the largest database of dealership transactional sales, inventory position and task completion information. Drawing from more than 1,700 dealers on a nightly basis, this data warehouse is the largest, most accurate source for dealership and market year-over-year trending information in the industry.