Boats Group Data Shows Most Repeat Boat Buyers Switch Brands

Boats Group’s new analysis of ownership records for more than 2.5 million boats across Florida, Ohio, Texas and Virginia finds limited brand loyalty among repeat buyers. The study estimates about 637,000 repeat owners—people associated with two or more boats. While repeat ownership is a sizeable share of the market (25.6% of owners in Florida, 31.3% in Ohio, 20.6% in Virginia and 18.0% in Texas), only 6% to 13% of those buyers return to the same manufacturer with their next boat. Loyalty tends to follow boat type more than brand, and even then many owners switch categories. Personal watercraft showed the strongest same-brand repeat patterns for Yamaha, Sea‑Doo and Kawasaki.