Pool sales are skyrocketing during the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘Nobody can keep up’

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, people have been doing what they can to make staying at home for months on end a little more enjoyable.

Trampolines and swing sets were hot items early on and now swimming pools are selling like hot cakes, business owners say.

Jason Harman, who owns ATD Pool Care in Kentucky said business has doubled since March, WLEX reported.

“We’ve had such an influx of new clientele that nobody can keep up, none of the pool companies have been able to keep up,” he told the outlet.

Harman said some of his colleagues were scheduled to build between 40 and 85 new pools.

“You know, there’s 52 weeks in a year and a lot of those weeks are frozen,” he told WLEX. “So, it’s going to be a really challenging, challenging time for the pool business, but in a good way.”

It’s a similar story at Blue Hawaiian Pools of Michigan, where digital media director Paul Douglas says sales have dramatically increased, Michigan Live reported.

“Because of the pandemic, we believe that more people are looking to add a pool to their home as they spend more time with family locally, opposed to vacationing,” he told the outlet.

Kari Beattie-Randolph, who owns Beattie Master Pools and Spas, said Memorial Day weekend is typically busy, but that 2020’s was especially noteworthy thanks to one item in particular, Michigan Live reported.

“Above ground pools were the new Charmin toilet paper,” she told the outlet. “Everyone had to have one.”

From hot tubs to kayaks

It’s not just pool sales that are going swimmingly.

Darren Bemister whose New Hampshire company sells all manner of equipment for outdoor fun said pools are, indeed, flying off shelves, along with hot tubs, patio furniture and kayaks, WYCN reported.

His business had twice as many sales in May compared to May 2019, according to the outlet.

Beattie-Randolph said she sold all seven hot tubs in her showroom in a two week period, Michigan Live reported.

Clayton Acosta who owns Tri-City Pools in New York said people are finally pulling the trigger on long-planned backyard repairs and improvements, according to Spectrum News.

“We’ve never seen so many projects that people have been waiting on for so long,” he told the outlet. “I’ve done a lot more with pools that haven’t been open in five or 10 years.”

He said his business wasn’t able to open until mid-May due to coronavirus restrictions, Spectrum reported. Now he says he’s working sunrise to sunset with the business booked until August.

However, the pool boom means getting parts hasn’t been easy, he told the outlet. Some above ground pool liners are backlogged up to 65 days, according to Spectrum.

Despite struggles to keep up with demand, business owners say they’re thankful for the work.

“We’ve been fortunate and blessed,” Harman told WLEX.

This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Pool sales are skyrocketing during the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘Nobody can keep up’."