Imagine you’re on a game show and in the final round the host proposes the question, “Which state in 2014 had the most views for pontoon boats on www.boattrader.com?” Now this is for all the money, so before you buzz in and shout out the first state that comes to mind, you first take a split second in an attempt to come up with a good educated guess.
If you’re talking boats, you have to consider those southern states such as Texas and Florida where people can actually enjoy boating year-round. How would that be? But while you’re off daydreaming about boating during the winter months, your competitor buzzes in first with her answer, “Louisiana,” which to your relief is quickly shot down by the host. Now you’re in a panic, but at least one contestant is now out of the running and it’s just down to you and one other.
You look to the audience for inspiration or to at least look like you’re giving this a lot of serious thought, yet you’re having trouble thinking this one through. You quickly try to regain your composure. We’re talking pontoon boats, so in your mind clearly it has to be Indiana, Missouri or possibly Michigan, right? After all, these Midwest states are known for pontoon boats so obviously it has to be….BUZZZZ.
Before you have a chance to ring in yourself, the other contestant responds with “Illinois,” which again is turned down by the host who tilts his head to the side and throws out a fake compassion response of, “Oh I’m sorry, that answer is incorrect.”
Now all eyes are on you to come up with the correct response to the question. You’ve ruled out in your mind the southern states as well as the Midwest states and you’re now trying to look at this from a logical standpoint. California has a ton of people, so it has to be the Golden State. However, so does New York, plus New York City has a lot of money as well as computers so maybe that state would be more likely to be surfing pontoon boats on Boat Trader. With the time ticking down you frantically blurt out the next state that pops in your head, “Ohio!”
With a sad and disappointed look on his face, the game show host drops his head and announces that all three contestants have answered incorrectly. The right answer is Georgia and then the audience collectively lets out a sigh as if to let you know you were all really close to getting the right answer.
Pontoons have been hot in the U.S. boat market for the past few years and most people would probably think a high-population boating state like Texas or Florida would have been number one in pontoon views on the popular new and used boat website. However, with 7.9 percent share of all pontoon views, Georgia was the surprise winner with a total of 382,825 views from November 1, 2013 to October 21, 2014.
Sorry you may not have won the grand prize, but instead of going home with a cheap consolation prize the game show host sends you off with the top 10 states in order with the percentage of pontoon listing views on www.boattrader.com. Georgia (7.9), Texas (7.4), Florida (7.2), Illinois (6.1), Michigan (6.1), Ohio (5.4), California (4.6), North Carolina (4.0), Tennessee (3.6) and Pennsylvania (3.2).
Then the host announces, “Sorry, that’s all the time we have for you today folks, until next time!”
