SHREVEPORT LA (1.11.26) 2026 is off to a very fast start in the 12volt Central Studios and The 12volt News. In this Special Sunday Edition we will spotlight activities from CES 2026 in Las Vegas along with the AIM EXPO in Anaheim CA, The 50th Annual North American Motorcycle Super Show in Toronto, PowerBass at the AMA ArenaCross in Anaheim CA along The Offroad Products Expo in Hot Springs AR plus the GS Distributing dealer show in Livermore, CA.

CES 2026 had over 4000 exhibitors across the 2,000,000 ft.² of the LVCC exhibit hall space. Over the years the 12volt community has continued to shrink in size. This year‘s event showed that that trend is still in place. VOXX Electronics and Pioneer Audio had very large presentations. VOXX was spotlighting products supporting OEM’s in the high-end golf cart segment in the traditional Central Hall Booth. Pioneer Audio was focused with the introduction of the new SPHERA product launch with a large presence in the West Hall.

The AIM Expo took place in the Anaheim Convention Center running January 7-9. JBL Audio had a large presence spotlighting their power sports category. Shawn Spedding and Fred Isensee showcased the new products along with live demos in the booth with a Polaris 2-door Ranger and the hot loaded bike. The company’s Polaris Expedition was spotlighted in the 4 Wheel Hall. Scott Hochmuth, Real Performance Marketing rep Principal, traveled from the Southeast to support JBL in the booth.

The 50th Annual North American Motorcycle Super Show took place at the in the Toronto Centre located in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga. Distributors GemSen and Importel were on site working with a number of their brands that had exhibits on the Show floor. In addition in a large adjacent Hall the Kicker AMA ArenaCross was also underway.

PowerBass was on site at an AMA SuperCross event at Angel Stadium in Anaheim CA. Erik Harbour, along with Juan Quintana and PowerBass models Serra, Amanda and Morgan were set up in a large booth that attracted a lot traffic at the family friendly event. PowerBass sponsored the Privateer Paddock and had a display set up under the large tent.

Hot Springs AR was home to the Offroad Products Expo. The large arena was filled with dozens of exhibitor tents and Powersports demo vehicles. Chuck Holey, Trail Star Audio, traveled down from up North and was on site with demos and worked a booth spotlighting JBL Powersports products including RallyBars.

Lastly, GS Distributing had a very well attended dealer show at their facility in Livermore CA on Tuesday, January 6th. KICKER dealers from across Northern California and Nevada. This was the first KICKER training in the area for 10 years. “The strong turnout highlighted the demand for in-depth product knowledge and the commitment dealers have to continue growing their businesses with industry-leading brands” Shams Nabi, President Nabi Industries Inc, related.

The 12volt News is celebrating 32 years and is set to continue delivering more fresh, positive news than any other industry platform.

SHREVEPORT, LA (01.01.26) – January 1st 2026 marks the beginning of a New Year filled with opportunities. Happy New Year 2026 to all across the 12volt industry!

The New Year 2026 presents all with opportunities to start with a clean slate and implement a fresh set of goals for the year ahead.

There is an old saying “Nothing is more constant than change.” The fact that online commerce continues to capture sales from brick and mortar retailers has become a constant that won’t change – unless brick and mortar retailers change their approach to the marketplace. E-commerce sales during the 2025 holiday season were up nearly double digits over 2024. Between Black Friday and Christmas eve FedEx, UPS, Amazon and the US Postal Service combined to deliver over 2 billion packages. To be sure, not all of those packages were Christmas gifts. However, as online ordering surged, the majority were Christmas gifts. Estimates are over 18% of those gift packages will be returned.

Brick and mortar retailers of all categories across the U.S. closed thousands of stores in 2024.

In the evermore digital marketplace, all brick and mortar retailers must change their mindset and marketing approach to engage the consumer marketplace. To be successful retailers must create an overall experience consumers can not get from an online retailer. Hearing crisp highs, and feeling bass in the chest, just can not be experienced online. Experiencing in-vehicle lighting plus power sports and marine installations first-hand will drive sales. Safety and convenience products, along with in-vehicle connectivity, are also categories where an exciting in-store experience can drive sales for brick and mortar retailers.

Social media outreach is an extremely powerful vehicle through which 12volt retailers can develop a legion of loyal followers and engage consumers. Mobile devices are in the hands of virtually all consumers today. The smartphone is such a valuable tool for 12volt retailers to showcase their respective message to their followers and engage consumers.

New product arrivals, hot installations, new in-store displays and proactive staff members represent ideal content to highlight through planned social media posts. By the time the morning coffee is brewed a far sighted 12volt retailer could have made an engaging Instagram post for his followers to checkout. That post could feature a new product with an invitation to come into the store for an exciting demonstration. As that Instagram post was made that content could have been shared to Facebook also.

The Instagram Business Profile, which is free, features a contact tab. A follower can tap the contact tab and call the store from their smartphone as they view the post. Also, a follower can send an email to the store as well as get a map to the store. Making a post, with the opportunity to get an immediate response from a follower, is an amazing outreach 12volt retailers can’t pass up in today’s marketplace.

For the good of our 12volt industry, the community of suppliers must endeavor to inform the world of the benefits mobile electronics products offer consumers. It’s is well known the price driven “Race to Zero” has stripped marketing budgets. Recent emphasis on high end in-vehicle audio, in-vehicle connectivity, dash cams, power sports, motorcycles and marine plus lighting upgrades provide terrific
product categories to kick off the New Year 2026.

We look forward to seeing your company’s brand and positive activities showcased in the 12volt Central Studios in 2026.

SHREVEPORT LA (12.26.25) It was terrific to see 12volt companies across the 12volt industry utilizing social media to wish their followers and friends Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas 2025 messages. Their custom graphics delivering the heartfelt Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays messages jumped off the screen of the 12volt Central Studios iPhone on Christmas Day.

The 12volt Central Studios Santa sleigh is now headed back to the North Pole for a much-needed rest before the trip back to the USA for Christmas 2026.

The posts above were selected from the hundreds of Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays posts that 12volt Central Studios staff members noted on social media posts.

SHREVEPORT, LA (12.24.2025) – We truly wish all across the 12volt industry a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Season 2025.

During this time of the year we wanted to take time to thank all across the 12volt industry for their support, encouragement and business in 2025 as we continue to work each day to showcase positives across the 12volt industry.

The year 2025 continued to be an uncertain time in the world and 12volt industry with so many changing factors in play. In many cases inventory supply issues continued in 2025 but tariffs and high inflation continued to impact consumer spending on non-essentials. Increases in online spending continues to impact the brick and mortar 12volt marketplace as well. Black Friday and Cyber Monday online sales again reached record levels.

The Christmas tree is up in the 12volt Central Studios. From the 12volt Central Studios, we encourage all to evaluate their situation and play to their strengths. Build on your company’s strengths and highlight the positives in your every day activities. Play the In-Store Experience and Professional Installation cards everyday. Manufacturers, Distributors, Rep Firms and Retailers alike must work to inform and connect to showcase our industry’s products to consumers. Consumers must be informed about our products and the positive ways those products can add to their in-vehicle safety and enjoyment experiences.

Let’s all work to make a bigger pie for all to share across the 12volt industry.

We look forward to continuing to showcase positives from companies across the 12volt industry in 2026 and beyond.