The 2026 Pied Piper PSI Internet Lead Effectiveness Study has once again highlighted a widening gap between top-performing dealerships and the rest of the powersports retail industry. At the center of this year’s findings is Indian Motorcycle, whose dealer network secured the highest ranking for the fourth consecutive year. While Indian’s consistent leadership underscores the impact of disciplined digital engagement, the broader industry continues to struggle with stagnant performance and missed opportunities in responding to online customer inquiries.
Indian Motorcycle Leads Again as Industry Performance Plateaus
The study evaluated how effectively dealerships respond to internet sales leads submitted through their websites. Researchers sent inquiries to 2,133 dealerships across all major powersports brands, assessing response speed, quality, and engagement across email, phone, text, and chat channels.
Indian Motorcycle dealers achieved an average score of 55 out of 100, maintaining their leadership position in a field where overall performance has shown little to no progress. In contrast, the industry-wide average score has remained stuck in the mid-40s for five consecutive years, signaling a persistent lack of improvement in digital retail practices.
This stagnation is particularly concerning given the growing importance of online engagement in the customer journey. Today’s powersports buyers increasingly rely on digital channels to initiate contact, request information, and evaluate options before stepping into a showroom. Yet, despite this shift, many dealerships continue to fall short in meeting basic expectations.
A Persistent Problem: Unanswered Customer Inquiries
One of the most striking findings from the study is that more than half of all customer inquiries still go unanswered in a meaningful way. This ongoing issue reflects a systemic failure across the industry to prioritize timely and personalized communication.
Only 47% of dealerships responded to customer questions via email or text message—an already low figure that has declined slightly since 2022. This means that, on average, dealers are effectively ignoring nearly half of their incoming web leads, resulting in lost sales opportunities and diminished customer trust.
The situation is further compounded by the limited use of appointment-setting strategies. While there has been a modest improvement compared to the previous year, only 13% of dealerships suggested a specific appointment time to prospective customers. This leaves more than 80% of potential buyers without a clear next step, reducing the likelihood of conversion.
Phone communication, often considered the most effective follow-up method, also remains underutilized. Just half of all dealerships contacted customers by phone, a figure that has not improved in recent years. By failing to leverage direct communication, dealers risk losing engagement with customers who may not respond to emails or text messages alone.
What Sets Indian Motorcycle Dealers Apart
Against this backdrop of underperformance, Indian Motorcycle dealerships stand out for their consistent execution and customer-focused approach. Their success is not the result of a single tactic, but rather a combination of disciplined behaviors and a commitment to multi-channel communication.
One of the defining characteristics of Indian dealers is their ability to engage customers across multiple platforms. In 39% of cases, they both answered the customer’s question via email or text and followed up with a phone call. This “do both” approach significantly increases the likelihood of connecting with customers, regardless of their preferred communication channel.
In comparison, the industry average for this behavior is just 24%, highlighting a substantial gap between top performers and the rest of the market.
Another key differentiator is responsiveness. Indian Motorcycle dealers recorded the lowest rate of non-response among all brands. Only about 4% of customer inquiries went unanswered, compared to an industry average of 9%. This means that Indian dealers are more than twice as likely as the average dealership to ensure that every customer receives some form of engagement.
This level of consistency is supported by structured performance tracking. Indian dealerships benefit from monthly reporting that evaluates their web response behaviors, providing ongoing feedback and accountability. These reports help identify gaps, reinforce best practices, and ensure that digital engagement remains a priority even during busy periods.
Brand-Level Performance Highlights
The study also provides a detailed comparison of how different brands perform across key response metrics. These insights reveal both leaders and laggards in various aspects of customer engagement.
When it comes to answering customer questions via email or text, brands such as BMW Motorrad, Ducati, Indian Motorcycle, and Triumph Motorcycles led the way, each exceeding a 65% response rate. On the other end of the spectrum, brands like Kawasaki and Kymco lagged significantly, with response rates below 35%.
In terms of phone engagement, Can-Am, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Indian Motorcycle, and CFMoto performed well, each exceeding a 50% contact rate. Meanwhile, brands such as Roxor and Cub Cadet struggled, with phone engagement rates below 20%.
The “did at least one” metric—which measures whether a dealer responded via any channel—further underscores the disparity. Top-performing brands like Can-Am, Indian Motorcycle, CFMoto, and Harley-Davidson exceeded 80%, while others failed to reach even 50%.
Perhaps the most telling metric is “did both,” which reflects a comprehensive engagement strategy. Indian Motorcycle, Harley-Davidson, Triumph, and BMW Motorrad all exceeded 30%, far outperforming the industry average of 24%. In contrast, several brands recorded rates below 10%, indicating minimal effort to combine communication methods.
The Value of ILE Scores in Driving Sales
The Internet Lead Effectiveness score serves as a powerful indicator of dealership performance, combining more than 20 weighted factors that are statistically linked to sales success. Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting faster, more thorough, and more personalized responses.
In the 2026 study, only 11% of dealerships achieved scores above 80, demonstrating excellence in customer engagement. Conversely, 45% scored below 40, indicating slow or ineffective responses that are unlikely to convert leads into sales.
This imbalance highlights a significant opportunity for improvement. Historical data shows that dealerships that elevate their performance from below 40 to above 80 can increase sales by as much as 50% without increasing the number of leads. In other words, better execution—not more marketing spend—is often the key to growth.
However, the latest data also reveals a slight negative trend. Compared to the previous year, there were fewer high-performing dealerships and more low-performing ones, suggesting that some dealers are falling further behind even as best practices become more widely known.
How the Study Was Conducted
To ensure accuracy and consistency, the study employed a rigorous methodology. Each dealership received a unique customer inquiry during normal business hours, asking a specific question about a motorcycle or side-by-side vehicle in inventory.
The inquiries were designed to simulate real-world customer behavior, using unique names, email addresses, and local phone numbers for each interaction. This approach ensured that dealerships treated each inquiry as a genuine sales opportunity.
Responses were then evaluated over a 24-hour period, taking into account factors such as response time, completeness of information, personalization, and use of multiple communication channels. The resulting scores provide a comprehensive view of how effectively dealerships handle online leads.
A Clear Path Forward for the Industry
The findings of the 2026 study paint a clear picture: while a small group of dealerships—led by Indian Motorcycle—continues to raise the bar, the majority of the powersports industry remains stuck in a cycle of underperformance.
The good news is that the path to improvement is neither complex nor costly. Simple, consistent actions—such as responding to every inquiry, using multiple communication channels, and setting clear next steps—can dramatically improve outcomes.
Indian Motorcycle’s continued success demonstrates that these practices are not only achievable but also sustainable over time. For the rest of the industry, the challenge now is to close the gap by adopting similar strategies and committing to a higher standard of customer engagement.
As digital interactions become increasingly central to the buying process, dealerships that fail to adapt risk being left behind. Those that embrace change, however, stand to gain a significant competitive advantage in an evolving marketplace.
Source Link:https://www.businesswire.com/
