Inside the 2026 Dealer Insights Report
Equipment costs are rising, buyers are delaying purchases, and margins are tightening. As a result, sales teams are spending more time navigating uncertainty than they were a year ago.
To understand what dealers are experiencing firsthand, Fusable surveyed nearly 400 dealers across construction, trucking, ag, and industrial equipment for the 2026 Dealer Insights Report. Participation more than doubled compared to last year, giving us a broader view into the pressures shaping dealer operations right now.
To bring those findings to life, let’s look at a fictional dealer built from the real pain points we saw repeatedly throughout the survey.
Meet “Mike.”
Mike runs a mid-sized equipment dealership, and lately the way dealers move through his business has started to feel different. His sales team is still fielding calls and quoting, but deals take longer to close or even stall. Inventory decisions carry more risk and every purchase conversation comes back to cost.
Mike is fictional but his challenges are real.
Buyers Are Interested, But They’re Hesitant
The problem comes after the first conversation. Customers are holding onto equipment longer, delaying upgrades, and reviewing each purchase more carefully. Decisions that once moved quickly now slow down as customers reassess costs and financing.
The survey data reflects that pressure:
of dealers expect customers to delay purchases and hold equipment longer.
of dealers say buyer hesitation tied to equipment costs is the biggest barrier to closing deals.
For dealers like Mike, the challenge is getting interested buyers to move forward. That hesitation doesn’t stop with the buyer; it shifts the pressure onto Mike’s team to decide which deals are worth pursuing.
Rising Costs Are Reshaping Dealer Strategy
As buyer hesitation grows, risk moves inside the dealership. Mike has watched equipment costs rise, while margins tighten across new and used inventory.
That pressure shows up in higher acquisition costs, longer inventory holding periods, tougher buyer negotiation, and greater pressure to price accurately. Over time, those pressures compound.
For many dealers like Mike, one bad inventory decision carries more impact than it did just a few years ago.
of dealers expect customers to delay purchases and hold equipment longer.
Dealers Are Using Data Differently
To reduce that risk, Mike’s team has started leaning on data more than ever. A few years ago, market data was often treated as a reference point.
Today, nearly half of dealers reference market data daily to support pricing, inventory, and sales decisions.
That shift matters to Mike. His team can no longer rely on outdated assumptions about what equipment should sell for or how quickly inventory should move.
They need a clear view of current pricing, buyer demand, financing activity, inventory movement, and equipment categories gaining traction.
Technology Adoption Is Growing. Frustration Is Too.
For Mike’s team, sales data lives in one system, customer activity in another, and pricing insights somewhere else. The result is more time spent validating information and less time spent on opportunities.
As reliance on market data grows, those inefficiencies become harder to ignore.
Relationships Still Matter Most
One thing has not changed: repeat customers continue to drive the majority of closed business.
Even with more digital tools, stronger data, and changing sales strategies, dealer relationships remain one of the strongest advantages in the market.
The difference in 2026 is that those relationships are being tested in a more cautious, cost-constrained environment. Mike can no longer rely on relationships alone. The dealers responding most effectively are combining customer relationships with better pricing visibility, more accurate inventory positioning, faster access to market data, and more informed sales decisions.
What the Report Reveals
The full 2026 Dealer Insights Report goes deeper into inventory and demand trends, buyer behavior, technology adoption, lead quality, market data usage, and operational friction based on dealer feedback across multiple industries.
See what dealers are experiencing right now and what is changing beneath the surface.
