The majority of US consumers shopping for automotive parts and accessories now make their purchases online while omnichannel shopping is also becoming more and more popular in this product segment, the latest UPS study has shown.
Conducted on behalf of UPS by comScore, the annual study “What’s Driving the Automotive Parts Online Shopper” revealed that 56% of shoppers buying automotive parts have now switched to the internet, which corresponds to an 8% increase over the previous year.
The study also showed that consumers are increasingly combining online (including mobile) and in-store channels for an omnichannel shopping experience thus shifting between the channels for researching, purchasing, picking up and returning their items.
The vast majority (95%) of online automotive aftermarket consumers are now also comparing products and prices before buying – a trend which increased by 12% since 2014. In addition, 63% use online coupons while 52% are more likely to shop with a retailer if they receive e-mail offers with discounts.
The role of a physical store for purchasing automotive parts has also changed, with online shoppers of auto parts using the ‘ship-to-store’ option 55% of the time, a 14% increase on the previous year, as part of a growing trend towards increased convenience and free delivery to the store. An additional 10% of consumers strongly prefer to return items to a store compared to the year before.
In terms of shopping preferences, 66% of online consumers are purchasing more replacement parts (up 7%) and fewer upgrade parts (down 2% to 54%). These consumers also are installing more parts themselves (up 4% to 66%) and are having fewer parts installed by someone else (down 13% to 34%), compared to 2014.
Those consumers shopping for replacement parts mainly look for the best price and availability while ‘upgrade’ customers search for product details and reviews. These shoppers are willing to make purchases internationally if they don’t find what they’re looking for at home. As the result, international purchases have been made by 29% of online auto parts shoppers, with 41% of these consumers saying they needed a specific part or accessory that was not available in the USA.
The top reasons for consumers to shop at one retailer over another are price (52%), product availability (45%) and selection (37%).
With the growing mobile commerce, the shoppers of auto parts increasingly use their mobile phones to research products, reviews and prices when and where they want. Thus, 43% of the respondents reported frequent (often or most of the time) use of mobile phones to compare prices, a 27% increase from a year ago. The number of consumers frequently using their mobile phones to look up product reviews also increased by 19% to 43% while 41% now frequently turn to their mobile phones to read product details, which equals a 22% increase.
Despite the growth of e-commerce and m-commerce in particular, shoppers of online auto parts and accessories consider the physical store to be more important than a year ago. 37% (up 6%) of online shoppers now prefer to purchase parts and accessories in a physical store. Physical stores are even more important for returns. The percentage of online shoppers who prefer to return items to a store increased by 12% to 86% in 2015.
“Online automotive parts shopping continues to accelerate. Consumer behaviour is shifting,” Brian Littlefield, UPS director of marketing for the automotive industry, said. “The UPS study revealed how shoppers have become more sophisticated and mobile while staying connected to their local auto parts retailer. Research suggests consumers want a seamless experience from their local auto parts supplier, whether a large chain or local independent, across websites and apps, email and physical store locations.”
“Online auto parts consumers are driven by value and empowered by technology. It’s absolutely critical to understand what’s driving these customers and how their shopping behavior is shifting to a more seamless experience,” he added.
