More affluent, diverse consumers are buying RVs

LAS VEGAS — RV dealers and lenders are seeing more diversity in income, age and ethnicity within its consumer base RV consumers aged 55 or older are “really growing over the last year,” Shannon Pinto , vice president of Statistical Surveys , said during a panel at the RV Dealers Convention and Expo on Nov. 11. Other changing demographics during the past year, according to Statistical Surveys, are: Consumers have higher household incomes; and Consumers aged 45 to 54 years are making $150,000 on average. The Hispanic consumer base has also grown, up almost 22% since the beginning of 2021, Pinto said. “What’s interesting about that demographic is they’re also younger,” Pinto said. The number of consumers with an average income of $250,000 or more is also increasing, Pinto told Auto Finance News at the convention. “That has an impact in terms of what they’re looking for. They can get something a little bit more expensive,” he said. The younger consumer Meanwhile, RV buyers are “getting much younger,” Rich DeLancey , co-founder and chief information officer at Coast Technology , told AFN at the expo. The company uses AI-based marketing insights on consumer shopping behavior to provide targeted advertising for RV dealers. “When I first got an RV back in 2011, our core demographic was 65-plus,” he said. “The motorhome demographic tends to still be 55-plus, but for towable, there’s a lot of families now … that are starting to push in that 35- to 50-[year-old] bucket.” Because the younger demographic borrowed more on credit cards as inflation rose, credit scores dropped, DeLancey said. “The typical RV shopper on a website used to have around 700 credit [score],” he said. “The typical RV shopper today is probably between 600 and 650.” “The typical RV shopper on a website used to have around 700 credit [score]. The typical RV shopper today is probably between 600 and 650.” -- Rich DeLancey, co-founder and chief information officer, Coast Technology Coast Technology mines its profile data to learn a customer’s credit score or income range and then advertises RVs with realistic monthly payments for that shopper or special financing deals for eligible buyers, DeLancey said. “Let’s say somebody does have some credit challenge and they’re sitting at a 675 credit score. They’re not going to qualify for that $199 a month payment,” he said. “So, we can now give them … a more realistic payment.” On the lender side, M&T Bank ’s RV portfolio focuses on “smaller travel trailer, young family-type consumers,” Executive Vice President and Head of Dealer Services Mark Breeden told AFN at the show. However, he noted that on the marine side , the bank’s customer base is largely affluent buyers. The Buffalo, N.Y.-based bank’s customer demographic has remained consistent despite potential affordability headwinds, he said. The financier also offers up to 20-year loan terms for higher-priced units, he said. “If anything, our credit quality has gotten a little better because, as we’ve seen a bit of weakening in the consumer, we’ve tightened up our credit parameters ,” he said. “Maybe we’ve chopped off that sub-700 [credit score] consumer.”

More affluent, diverse consumers are buying RVs

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