New Study Released Shows the Effect of Economic Downturn on Bicycle Dealers

San Jose, CA, March 27, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Ahead of the National Bicycle Dealers Association 2009 reports, MerchantOS has released their results on how bicycle dealers are suffering during the economic downturn.

According to Justin Laing, MerchantOS Co-Founder and software architect, bicycle dealers are taking a hard hit financially. Sales are down and the cost of imported goods is up due to a weak dollar. The company's 130 bicycle shop clients reported that sales during the 2008 Christmas season were down 20% from 2007. The numbers for January and February 2009 were slightly better; but were still down 8-11% from the previous year. Bicycle sales began to climb at the beginning of March 2009, but are reported as still being down approximately 6% in comparison to March 2008.

According to the National Bicycle Dealers Association, bicycle sales are a $6 billion dollar industry in the United States. The roughly 4,000 independent bicycle dealers in the U.S. account for 49% of the market. This means that the numbers reported by MerchantOS bicycle dealer customers equates to more than a $70 million dollar loss industry-wide.

MerchantOS is a retail POS software system solutions provider, and bicycle dealers who want to learn more about the company's study may do so by visiting www.merchantos.com.

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