Price continues to be the number one need of do-it-yourself auto parts shoppers, according to the 2017 Aftermarket Business World Reseller Product Study.
This year’s survey showed that 58 percent of resellers responding to the online survey said that price was the most important characteristic to DIYers compared to 56 percent of resellers who answered that question the same way in last year’s survey. For DIYers, quality finished a distant third after availability in this both surveys
Some 36 percent of resellers surveyed this year said that quality is the top need of professional auto repair shop customers. Availability was the number two need according to 20 percent of respondents and price came in third at 16 percent.
This is similar to last year’s survey results that showed that 43 percent of resellers said quality was the top need of professional customers, while 21 percent said price and 19 percent said availability.
Resellers surveyed reported better sales in 2016 in this year’s survey compared to their sales in 2015. Some 62 percent of respondents said their sales of the surveyed products increased in 2016 compared to 53 percent who said their sales increased in 2015 compared to the previous year.
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Resellers surveyed have a more positive outlook on sales and on gross margins this year than they did last year. Some 69 percent of resellers surveyed said they expect sales to continue to increase in 2017, while 29 percent expect this year’s sales to be flat. That is an increase from last year’s survey when 58 percent of resellers responded that they expected to sell more products in 2016, compared to 40 percent who expected flat sales.
Some 67 percent of resellers expect to have improved gross margins in 2017 in the product categories surveyed. That compares to 50 percent of resellers who expected improved margins in 2016 in last year’s survey.
Exactly one half of resellers surveyed this year said that the majority of their inventory is national brand, while 37 percent said their inventory is evenly split between national brand and private label products.
Methodology: The Reseller Product Study was fielded to readers of Aftermarket Business World via email. Survey results are intended to show general market trends, not statistical certainties.
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