Tristin Burdick | March 4, 2023
Whether it’s fuel prices or egg prices, consumers are becoming more aware of how much their spending on everyday items. We’ve seen exceptionally high fuel prices in 2022, with the national average breaking $5 per gallon for the first time. Many factors can be associated with the higher prices of fuel. The war in Ukraine, rising inflation, labor shortages, and supply chain issues all seem to be influencing price changes to some degree.
But are the changes in fuel prices affecting the way consumers use their powersport vehicles? Our findings show there’s not much change. Most consumers are likely to use their powersport vehicle the same amount as they did last year. In fact, it would take a price change of more than $1 to affect a behavioral change in consumers.
Middle-class consumers are also more likely to change their behavior if fuel prices fell more than $1. This shows that middle-class consumers are more sensitive to fuel prices when it decreases rather than increases. Interestingly, the inverse is true for upper-class consumers. Those making over $150k per year are sensitive to higher fuel price increases rather than price decreases.
There is also a difference between male and female consumers. Women are more price “elastic” than men with 56% indicating that it would take more than a $1 change in fuel price to affect behavior. Male consumers tend to exhibit a balanced approach to behavioral changes given the increase or decrease in fuel prices.
