Discover Boating HSI Signals Strengthening Early Stage Demand Heading Into the Summer Boating Season
As a boat dealer, you rely on a steady pipeline of new customers entering the market, including those who are not yet ready to buy. The May Discover Boating Health Score Index (HSI) provides insight into how that early‑stage demand is building as the industry moves into peak boating season.
May Results at a Glance
The May HSI registered 85%, improving slightly month over month but remaining below both the 2024 benchmark and prior‑year levels. While the overall score reflects a gap, several leading indicators of consumer interest remain strong.
- Market visibility continues to perform well
- Search activity for boating remains positive
- Participation levels are holding steady
What’s Driving Performance?
Recent Discover Boating testing is beginning to produce measurable signals. Media efforts drove increased website traffic and significantly more hand‑raisers in supported markets, with additional gains when targeting higher‑potential audiences.
At the same time, some metrics reflect intentional strategy shifts. Hand‑raisers remain below prior‑year levels, largely due to reduced investment in paid search and a reallocation toward upper‑funnel marketing designed to attract new boating participants.
What Does This Mean for Dealers?
For your dealership, May’s results highlight a familiar but important dynamic: top‑of‑funnel demand is strengthening, even as mid‑funnel lead volume fluctuates. Discover Boating’s current approach is focused on expanding awareness and reaching new audiences. That strategy may produce fewer immediate high‑intent leads in the short term, but it supports a broader pipeline of future customers entering the market.
At the same time, stable search activity and participation signal that consumer interest in boating remains intact heading into the core selling season. That’s an important foundation for your store’s engagement and conversion.
What to Watch
As the season progresses, keep an eye on:
- Does expanded reach translates into more hand‑raisers?
- Continued gains from targeted media strategies
- Movement in engagement as campaigns scale
These indicators will help show how early‑stage awareness begins converting into downstream opportunity.
About the Health Score Index
Discover Boating, powered by NMMA and MRAA, developed the HSI to track how consumers are discovering, engaging with and developing interest in recreational boating. The index measures early‑stage momentum across awareness, interest and participation — not dealership sales or individual performance. As the Advisory Group, NMMA and MRAA continue advancing Discover Boating’s market expansion strategy, the HSI serves as an important tool for understanding how effectively the campaign is reaching, inspiring and engaging new audiences.
Learn More
Read the full NMMA report and access the May dashboard. Access the full HSI dashboard and frequently asked questions by clicking HERE.
Miss the Discover Boating HSI Webinar?
Discover Boating hosted a webinar to provide an overview of the Health Score Index earlier this month. The HSI provides a clearer view of how consumer interest and participation are building, helping create more informed, engaged prospects for your dealership to connect with. You can watch the full recording HERE.
