With the rising popularity and availability of all-weather tires from tiremakers and brands in all tiers, tire dealers have more opportunities than ever to present all-weather tire options to consumers.
We turned to three dealers in three different regions of the U.S. to find out how independent tire dealers are marketing and selling these four-season products to drivers.
Nick Johnson is the president and owner of The Ultimate Tire Shop Ltd., a single-store business in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Some might call him a purist when it comes to helping his customers prepare for the winter season.
“In the tire business in the Northeast, we all look forward to the fourth quarter when we’re putting winter tires on cars and doing lots of extra business,” says Johnson. “The all-weather category curtails that. But the whole industry seems to be going in that direction. The only downside from my 47 years in the business is it takes away a chunk of business you won’t see again. You’ll lose the spring changeovers, the winter changeovers, the selling of the winter tires (and) maybe some under-carriage looks.”
And though it’s not his preference, Johnson says he does see where all-weather tires fit into the current landscape.
“In today’s day and age, people don’t have room and space to store their tires. They can’t be bothered,” he says. “I still think — and know — nothing will work better in the winter than a winter tire, but the all-weather seems to be the next new fad in the tire world. I think every once in a while they need to reinvent the tire and wheel because they run out of things to do.”
He says all-weather tires might be good for consumers in some markets, but he has customers who need winter tires - and sometimes even studded winter tires - to navigate their driveways during the wintertime.
“It might be better for the average customer, but I don’t know for the local tire store if an all-weather tire is beneficial to our business,” says Johnson.
All-weather tires also present a new issue and need to communicate to consumers how long these tires will last.
“I think over the course of time, over a four-year period, (consumers are) still going to buy the same number of sets of tires — but it just changed how they go about it,” he says.
In the end, he recommends what best fits a customer’s needs.
“I try my hardest to keep people as safe as I can. I listen a lot to what customers are looking for in a product and what their needs are. My ultimate, number-one sale to anyone would be a winter tire. If there’s any hedging, from there I would not go to an all-season. I’d talk to them about an all-weather tire.”
A change in the heartland
At his four tire stores in North Dakota, Jarid Lundeen says, “We were heavily dependent on snow tires before all-weather tires came out.”
Lundeen is the owner of Trusted Tire & Auto, whichhas locations in Bismark and Minot, N.D. He says over time, the company’s winter tire sales have mostly transitioned into the all-weather category.
“Our snow tire has got to be 60% less - maybe 70% - less because of this,” he notes.
He says his stores sell all-weather tires year-round, not just in the months when winter weather is most imminent.
“I think everybody in our market knows that winter is going to come and when it gets here you’ve got to be protected. Our customers appreciate the all-weather tire because it does offer the ability to be kept on all season and then offering the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake (designation) for that time that you need that extra ice traction or extra snow traction.”
The transition to all-weather tire popularity has been rather swift in his markets.
Lundeen says his top-selling tire size is 225/65R17 and in 2024, his most popular tire has been the Firestone WeatherGrip, an all-weather product. Three years ago, his most popular tire was an all-season tire in the Firestone brand. “We don’t even carry that tire anymore.”
His stores have always leaned heavily into the Firestone brand and he keeps them in stock. But Lundeen says he was surprised to see the dominance of this particular tire in his product screen.
Bridgestone Americas Inc. launched the Firestone WeatherGrip in 2019 with 33 sizes. Lundeen says when his team sells a tire size that's available within the Firestone WeatherGrip line-up, 63% of his company’s sales result in the sale of that tire. That means all other brands and tiers share the remaining 37%.
A surprise in the South
Atlanta, Ga., isn’t known for its snowfall — except for how the rare winter storm with ice or light snowfall has the power to paralyze the southern city. But Michael Spencer, co-owner of TireSouth, says that doesn’t mean Atlanta drivers don’t need tires that can perform in the winter elements.
Spencer and his wife, Jessica, own TireSouth, an eight-store tire dealership with stores that serve the greater Atlanta market.
“In Atlanta, we’re kind of a milder climate, but that’s not to say we don’t have weather events," he says. "You can expect one or two a year and when we do get them, we’re not prepared for them.”
He says the Michelin CrossClimate2 “has been a good performer for us.”
Some buyers of that tire might be people living in Atlanta who grew up somewhere else and “they’re still going home to visit. We don’t have a lot of weather here. It's just to the north of us.
"If you’re going to Tennessee, you’ve got mountains and cold weather to contend with. I think having that additional (winter) capability would have a benefit - not to every driver in our market, but certainly to some.”
And though TireSouth isn’t stocking those tires on its own racks, Spencer says he looked at the inventory of several of his wholesale distributors and all-weather tires are in stock in a full complement of sizes in the Atlanta market.
To Spencer, that indicates all-weather tires are selling in Atlanta. “They wouldn’t be taking up shelf space if they didn’t think they would be able to move them.”
