Olympics + Bradley Wiggins = higher UK cycle sales

High profile sports can have a lot of influence on consumers' attitudes and purchasing decisions. First it was Great Britain's many cycling medals at the 2012 Olympics. Then it was Bradley Wiggins' victory at the Tour de France (see above). The result: UK consumers are more enthusiastic than ever about bicycling, with many buying their first bicycles or upgrading to better cycles. That's good news for marketers coping with a challenging economy.

Cycle Surgery, a brand owned by Snow+Rock, saw sales of road bikes increase during the Olympic Games. Its marketing director observes:

"After the Tour de France and Olympics, the UK is definitely on the world map as a cycling nation and hopefully people will stick with it".

At Evans Cycles, website traffic spiked and sales of road bikes surged by 35% after the Olympics and the Tour de France. A number of bike shops in Colchester are also noticing the difference since this summer's events. The manager of Cycle Revolution says:

"The last two or three weeks we are getting people buying road bikes, saying they are inspired by what they have seen on TV".

Now how many consumers will find the Winter Olympics so exciting that they buy figure skates or skis?