Hi everyone,

This week I have the results of our 2022 CIMS Year End Survey. As we know with independent retail, every store is different and unique with their approach to business, but I always look forward to the results of this survey when we get a comprehensive look into how our CIMS group, as a whole, faired for the year.

Here we go!

How did your December 2022 compare to December 2021?

Overall, the group was up 12% for the month of December with the high being up 34% and the low being down 3%

How did your vinyl sales in December 2022 compare to December 2021?

Overall, the group was up 18% for the month of December with the high being up 55% and the low being down 3%

How did CD sales in December 2022 compare to December 2021?

Overall, the group was down 3.4% for the month of December.

How did vinyl sales for 2022 overall compare to 2021?

Overall, the group was up 10% for 2022, with the high being up 39% and the low being down 10%. Multiple comments said availability of titles affected this.

How did CD sales for 2022 overall compare to 2021?

Overall, the group was up 1% for 2022, with the high being up 25% and the low being down 13%

What percentage of your overall sales were used product for 2022?

Overall, about 25%

How did 2022 used sales compare to 2021 used sales?

Overall, up about 1%, with the high being up 12% and the low being down 10%

What percentage of your 2022 sales were in-store sales vs online?

Overall, about 87% were in-store sales, with online sales making up 13% of the biz.

What were the product lines or genres that stuck out as big winners for the holiday season and all year?

There was a great range of answers including:
Catalog LPs- number 1 answer
Autographed items
Mystery Bags
There seemed to be an increase in all kinds of gift items as well

Were there any contributing or diminishing factors that affected holiday sales and throughout the year?

Top answers were the price and availability of vinyl. Also, many of our stores were hit really hard with all kinds of crazy weather especially over the month of December, which I know had an impact on our December numbers.

All in all, and despite the hurdles, the stores all seemed to have a strong year. In 2023 I would love to see us all work to do what we can to keep vinyl pricing down where possible (I know this is a tough one with all of the supply issues, but let’s keep it on the list), working to make sure we make some room at the press to make sure those catalog titles can get into the hands of the stores because they are performing, and also to keep these stores front of mind and at least on equal footing with everyone else on new releases as well. They remain an important piece of the new release equation and they want to be able to satisfy their customers along with everyone else.

Thanks for reading and reach out if you have any questions or want to discuss.

Here are the charts,
Andrea

Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
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