Discover Boating’s July Health Score Index rebounded in July, climbing eight points from the prior month
It would be amazing if all consumers just walked into your dealership and chose to become a boater overnight. Because that’s rarely how people become boaters. That’s often because long before someone visits your showroom, they’re learning about boating, discovering the lifestyle, researching various boating options, from renting to full-blown ownership. Then they decide whether boating fits their lifestyle. The Discover Boating Health Score Index (HSI) exists to help the industry understand what’s happening during those early stages of the customer journey.
July’s Rebound Points to Continued Consumer Interest
After declining in June, the HSI rebounded to 83%, up eight points month over month and two points year over year. While the score remains below the July 2024 benchmark of 100, several indicators suggest boating continues to maintain strong visibility and consumer interest.
July’s higher number reflects improved performance compared with June 2026. According to NMMA, several key indicators stayed healthy:
- Boating maintained strong visibility among consumers
- Participation was strong as consumers continued spending time on the water
- Discover Boating’s latest Test & Learn efforts generated positive engagement results
- Consumer awareness and interest persisted during the peak boating season
You should view year-over-year comparisons cautiously as the HSI framework continues to evolve, the month-over-month improvement points to growing momentum heading into the latter part of the summer season.
What was Behind July’s Health Score Improvement?
A strategic focus in July was Discover Boating’s ongoing Test & Learn initiative. The latest phase explored an important question: At what point does additional marketing investment stop generating meaningful results?
Testing during peak boating season showed that increased media investment created additional opportunities to identify and engage prospective boaters. Both the 2x and 4x budget levels demonstrated value, helping media platforms reach consumers who showed greater interest in boating.
The Discover Boating team also made adjustments to campaign creative and media channels.
Rather than optimizing strictly for website traffic, efforts increasingly focused on the quality of consumer engagement. As a result, some channels generated fewer website visits while producing more meaningful consumer interactions, including increased click-through activity to member websites.
Why July’s Results Matter to Dealers
July’s findings reinforce something we’ve seen throughout the HSI reports: more traffic doesn’t always mean stronger consumer interest. Discover Boating’s testing did not prioritize traffic volume. Even so, the latest results suggest consumers who engaged with campaign content demonstrated stronger levels of interest and intent.
That’s an important point because Discover Boating’s role is not to generate immediate sales. Instead, it introduces prospective boaters to the lifestyle, builds interest and encourages participation. The role of helping those consumers continue their journey then falls on retailers, manufacturers and other industry stakeholders.
What Dealers Should Watch Next
As the boating season progresses, pay attention to:
- Participation trends and on-water activity
- Continued improvements in audience targeting
- Results from Discover Boating’s media investment testing
- Consumer engagement quality, not just traffic volume
- How awareness and participation trends perform heading into the fall season
Keep an eye on these trends, as they help reveal how consumer interest in boating develops before prospects walk into a showroom.
About the Health Score Index
Discover Boating, powered by NMMA and MRAA, developed the Health Score Index to track how consumers are discovering, engaging with and developing interest in recreational boating. The index measures awareness, engagement and participation across the early stages of the customer journey, helping the industry better understand market momentum over time.
Learn More
Read the original July HSI report from NMMA.
Explore the HSI dashboard, FAQs and educational resources.
New to the Health Score Index? Visit MRAA’s Discover Boating HSI resource page for previous reports, webinar recaps and dealer-focused analysis.
