After 3 years of development and 2 years of successful operation, the Bicycle Association (BA) is excited to announce contracts have been signed and work is underway for the next phase of its UK Cycling Market Data Service, MDS 2.0.
Launched in April 2020 and powered by Sports Marketing Surveys, the current service is already world-leading in the cycling sector. It covers over 70% of the UK cycling market by value from data drawn directly from retailers’ till systems across the country.
MDS tracks more than one million products every month across the full range of cycling products and services including bikes, electric bikes, parts, accessories, clothing and services. MDS captured the sales of nearly 1.4 million bicycles in the last 12 months alone. The service has underpinned the Bicycle Association’s advocacy work, and provided invaluable insights to industry subscribers navigating through the cycling boom of 2020/21 and the subsequent supply chain challenges and changes in demand patterns seen in the post Covid, post Brexit world.
MDS2.0 will deliver a deeper and more complete insight into the UK cycling market than has ever been possible through much more sophisticated and tailored reporting capability and the addition of new data sets that will really help add context to the sales analysis.
Market Data Service Director at the BA, Simon Irons, said: “MDS 2.0 builds on the success of the last 2 years and will raise the bar on what the service is capable of. MDS2.0 will transform the service into a full cycling market knowledge hub, allowing the BA to make more sophisticated advocacy arguments and allowing its industry users significantly deeper analysis of their own business performance. We’re thrilled to be working with our partners SMS and Loft on this transformation.”
John Bushell, MD at Sports Marketing Surveys, said: “We are very proud of what has already been achieved and of the trust put in us by the BA and the wider cycling community. The MDS is a genuinely transformative service and this exciting evolution will take it to a new level, extending the support available to the cycling industry as it creates happier, healthier and more connected populations.”
Nick Nettleton, CEO at Loft Digital, added: “We are really proud to be involved in the next generation of the Market Data Service, working with BA and its partners to bring in the latest cutting edge cloud technology tools and techniques. This transition will enable MDS2.0 to grow faster, integrate seamlessly with other services, deliver new insights, improve user experience, and lead the way for technology in the UK’s cycling industry.”
The MDS2.0 functionality will be gradually rolled out over the next 6-12 months and members will be kept fully updated on developments as they unfold.
For more information about the service, visit https://www.bicycleassociation.org.uk/market-data/ or contact us now.
To understand how Sports Marketing Survey can help you take evidence-based decisions in the cycling industry, contact marc.anderman@sportsmarketingsurveys.com
About BA’s Market Data Service
The Market Data Service (MDS) is a not-for-profit service run by the Bicycle Association for the benefit of the UK cycling industry. Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS) is the BA’s data partner for the programme. The Market Data Service provides game-changing retail sales market insights for the specialist and generalist sales channels. Subscribers receive access to real, monthly sales data across bikes, parts, accessories, and services; data which can be cut and diced in thousands of ways: by category, channel, price-point, brand and by region. The BA also produces market updates every 6 months telling the story behind the trends and producing future project projections based on the data and industry insights. For more information on subscription or one-off reports, contact emma@bicycleassociation.org.uk
About the Bicycle Association
The Bicycle Association (BA) is the national trade association for the UK cycling industry and works to represent its interests to government, stakeholders and the general public. The mission of the BA is to grow cycling, particularly everyday transport cycling, and to grow the cycling market in the UK. https://www.bicycleassociation.org.uk
Contact for Media: Elizabeth Elford elizabeth@bicycleassociation.org.uk
About Loft Digital
Loft Digital (Loft) is BA’s technology partner leading the Market Data Service from a technology perspective. To learn how Loft works with organisations in cycling, health and other mission-led areas to create industry-leading digital, cloud and data platforms, please contact Nick Nettleton, nick@loftdigital.com, or visit https://www.loftdigital.com
