Posts Tagged ‘ market trends ’

Google Reveals Automotive Repair & Maintenance Shopping Secrets

April 25, 2013

Here are some interesting stats on consumers searching for vehicle maintenance and repair services, for both Do It Yourself (DIY) and Do It For Me (DIFM) vehicle owners. It’s the subject of a report released by the folks over at Google Think Insights and shows the importance of automotive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and paid search. As an automotive aftermarket digital marketing agency we enjoy data like this. DIFM consumers were responsible for 77% of the aftermarket’s sales volume in 2012 (excluding tires). That’s only down slightly from a decade ago, when it was 78%. It’s projected to get...

September Slowdown for Auto Parts Retail Sales

November 14, 2012

Retail sales through auto parts stores were down again compared to one year ago. September sales were down 4% from September 2011, following a 1% decline in August. Auto parts retail sales for the first half of 2012 posted better than a 5% increase from 2011, aided in part by unseasonably warm weather in January and February; the second half of this year tells a different story, however. The third quarter ended with about a 1% decrease from the third quarter of 2011. Total October retail sales as reported by the government were down 0.3% from September, a sign...

Trend 1: Why New Car Auto Sales Are Rising

October 29, 2012

Today we’re going to wrap up our “66 Trends in 66 Days” series with Trend 1: reasons for the continuing increase in automobile and light truck sales in the face of a weak economy. The auto industry tracks monthly unit sales as a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) figure, which has been steadily rising since the summer of 2009. Monthly auto sales in September 2012 hit 14.9 million units, the highest level in over four years. And it could have been even higher because September was soft for fleet sales, meaning the September surge was primarily based on consumer...

Trend 2: Purchase Frequency by Vehicle Owned

October 28, 2012

Have you ever wondered how often enthusiasts tend to buy parts and accessories? We surveyed more than 2,500 enthusiasts to find out how often they make a purchase and arranged the information by what type of vehicle they bought for. We surveyed enthusiasts and asked the question, “How often do you buy parts or accessories for your vehicle?” We also asked what vehicle they purchased parts for in order to better understand any trends within certain segments. We found that, on average, 50% of all different types of vehicle owners buy once a month or more. Owners of street...

Trend 3: Bringing the Web to Your Vehicle

October 27, 2012

A popular trend with car manufacturers over recent years has been the integration of the web into the modern vehicle. Recently, manufacturers have been adopting platforms that rely on the driver’s mobile phone for connectivity. This trend is now changing as more manufacturers focus on a more direct way to connect vehicles to the web. At a discussion about the web-connected vehicle at the SF MusicTech Summit event held in October 2012, GM’s Chief Infotainment Officer, Philip Abram predicted that in 5 years, “software will define the experience in the car.” The main obstacle that manufacturers are facing is...

Trend 4: Enthusiasts: Time Between Decision and Actual Purchase

October 26, 2012

Today, we are going to look at some of our own research to better understand how long it takes an enthusiast to actually purchase a product after they have made the decision to buy. As a part of our own syndicated Hedges & Company research, we sought to find out how long it took enthusiasts to make the actual purchase after deciding to buy. We surveyed more than 2,500 enthusiasts, and asked them what the average length of time was from when they decide to buy a part or accessory to when they actually buy. The data shows that,...

Trend 6: Vehicles at the 2012 SEMA Show

October 24, 2012

The SEMA Show draws all kinds of different entities of the automotive sector, and with them they bring the best products, parts, facts and research they have. Perhaps the largest attractions at the show, however, are the custom vehicles. Here is a look at what some of the most talked about vehicles that will be at this year’s show. Ford plans to unveil at least 20 vehicles at the SEMA show. Of the vehicles to be shown, the showcase will feature various Focus and Fusion models built by various motorsports groups such as Bojix Design, Tanner Foust Racing, and...

Trend 8: Vehicle Segment Trends by Region

October 22, 2012

Jumpstart Automotive Group released a report on online car shopping trends by U.S. region showing the top vehicle segments as well as the top shopping consideration. The company analyzed behaviors of automotive website users in 2012 “to draw connections between specific U.S. territories and the most popularly researched vehicles and top car shopping considerations among consumers within those territories.” The study found that: People in the Northwest region of the U.S. tend to prefer hybrids and consider price as a priority. Consumers in the Southwest prefer compact cars and focus on the features of a car when considering a...

Trend 11: How Enthusiasts Decide Where to Buy

October 19, 2012

Welcome back to our blog, today we’ll take a look at how enthusiasts decide where to buy their engine components. We surveyed thousands of automotive enthusiasts about their shopping habits to find out things like where they go to find information, what magazines they read and websites they visit, how much they spend on parts annually, etc. Today, we’ll give you a look at our findings of what enthusiasts considered most important when deciding where to buy. The choices enthusiasts were given were: product knowledge, return policy, business reputation, ability to install, bought from them before, lowest price, product...

Trend 13: 3 Things You Didn’t Know about 1994-2004 Mustang Owners

October 17, 2012

The fourth generation Ford Mustang, also known as “SN-95,” included styling from previous Mustangs and came with a 3.8 liter overhead valve V6 engine or a 4.6 liter single overhead camshaft V8. This generation included three alternate models: the 2001 Bullitt, the 2003 and 2004 Mach 1, and the 2003 and 2004 Cobra. Here are three things to know about fourth generation Mustang owners: 1). 53% of 1994-2004 Mustang owners are homeowners. 2). The average household income of a 1994-2004 Ford Mustang owner is $61,741; for comparison, the average US household income is around $51,000. 3). 62% of 1994-2004...

Trend 14: A Sign Auto Parts Retail Sales Are Slowing?

October 16, 2012

Today’s trend is a little concerning: the growth in auto parts sales is slowing down compared to the first half of 2012. This is important to watch as you plan your company’s automotive aftermarket forecast for 2013. Retail sales of auto parts went negative for the second time this year. August 2012 showed a slight drop from 2011, following a decent July (up about 3.5%) and a slight drop in June. We’re holding to our forecast that the year will come in between 3% and 4% over 2011 but we’ll be watching economic signs closely for any changes over...

Trend 15: How to Grow Sales With New Products From the SEMA Show

October 15, 2012

Welcome back to the Hedges & Company blog, here is Trend 15, how to grow your sales with new products. We’re introducing a new term for some of our readers, the New Product Ratio (NPR). The specialty auto parts industry thrives on new products and innovation. For retailers, warehouse distributors (WDs), manufacturers, and automobile dealers selling aftermarket products, new products are one of the best opportunities to grow sales in 2013. They create excitement among consumers and for brick and mortar retailers they help drive store traffic. For online marketers, new products increase organic search web traffic and bring...

Trend 16: 3 Things You Didn’t Know About 2008-2012 Honda Accord Owners

October 14, 2012

The Honda Accord became the first car from a Japanese manufacturer to be produced in the U.S. in 1982. Since then, it has been one of the best selling foreign models and is rated as one of the world’s most reliable vehicles. The eighth generation of the Accord (2008-2012) is classified as a full-size car and offers a 4-cylinder model as well as a V6 version. 1). 66% of 2008-2012 Honda Accord owners are homeowners. 2). The average household income of a 2008-2012 Honda Accord owner is $79,632; for comparison the average U.S. household income is around $51,000. 3)....

Trend 17: 3 Things You Didn’t Know About Audi Owners

October 13, 2012

Today, we continue our trends with a look at Audi owners. Below are some interesting facts and demographic information about people who own any model Audi. Audi is a German luxury car company with a large presence in the United States; in fact, in recent years Audi has been breaking its own records in U.S. sales. Audi is owned by Volkswagen and has been around since 1909. The manufacturer specializes in compact, mid-size and full size cars as well as crossover vehicles. Here are a few things you probably didn’t know about the owners of Audi vehicles: 1). 52%...

Trend 19: Auto Sales Rise in August and September

October 11, 2012

businesswoman receiving keys of her new off-road car

The US automotive industry has always played a large part in the economy, and the same industry that once needed a taxpayer bailout to stay alive may be the one to stave off another recession. Over the past two years, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Chrysler Group and other auto companies have added 90,000 manufacturing jobs—a 14% increase—according to federal employment data. New vehicle sales in August neared 1.3 million, according to Autodata Corp. This is the highest monthly sales figure since August 2007. After this surge in vehicle sales, analysts announced that they expect the industry will...

Trend 24: Where Crankshaft Buyers Find Information

October 6, 2012

Have you ever wondered where automotive enthusiasts find information about products, vehicles, maintenance, and what’s going on in the automotive world? We surveyed automotive enthusiasts who had recently bought or shopped for crankshafts to learn about their information gathering habits. Enthusiasts tend to seek information on the internet, in mail order catalogs and through parts and accessories manufacturers more than anywhere else. Listed below are the 15 sources where buyers get their information. Where buyers find information: Blog Social Media Site (Facebook, LinkedIn…) Magazines Chain Parts Store Car Shows Garage Internet Search Independent Shop Manufacturer Mail order/Catalog Car/Truck Dealer...

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