Posts Tagged ‘ retail sales ’

Auto Parts Customer Behavior in Google Analytics (or, Where the Heck Do My Customers Come From??)

April 26, 2013

You can improve your search engine optimization (SEO) and Google AdWords paid search results by understanding how automotive parts and accessory customers originally find your website, and how they return to make a purchase. You can discover a lot of information hidden in the Multi-Channel Funnels reporting section of Google Analytics (menu shown at left) so as an automotive aftermarket digital marketing agency we thought we’d pass this along in our blog. As Google puts it, “…these days, the customer journey has grown more complex.” Amen. Customers can come to your site from many marketing channels: social media, email,...

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 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 7: 3 Things Aftermarket Retail Stores Need to Stay Ahead of the Curve

October 23, 2012

There’s a lot of competition in the automotive aftermarket—retail stores have to compete with online prices and specialty parts catalogs, and the seemingly endless selection that both provide. So what advantages do retail stores have that can keep them ahead of the competition? 1). Customer service: When customers enter an automotive parts store, they aren’t just looking for a part, many need help. Parts stores have an advantage over non-retail entities in the fact that their employees can actively provide help in a personal environment. Employees are able to explain benefits of certain products, ask open-ended questions about the...

Trend 12: 2 Things to Know About How Consumers Perceive Price

October 18, 2012

Welcome back to our countdown of 66 trends in 66 days! Today we’ll give you a look at how consumers perceive prices when shopping. How you present a price greatly affects if a consumer perceives the product as “expensive” or “cheap.” Research shows that typeface, size of the price or dollar symbol and other characteristics have an effect on of price impression and consumer buying behavior. How you present the price can also influence whether consumers will believe it to be “too high” or “fair.” 1). How far apart you space a “regular” price and a “sale” price can have...

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 25: Retail Auto Parts Sales Outlook for 2012

October 5, 2012

Welcome back to our blog! Today we’ll look at auto aftermarket Trend 25: Our outlook for retail auto parts and accessories sales for 2012. Here are two things you should know: 1). January-June 2012 showed about a 5.4% increase over 2011 despite June showing a decrease from one year ago. June 2012 went negative partially because June 2011 was a huge month. Still, it was the first month that didn’t show an increase over the previous year since February 2010 and that’s a concern. Even with June showing a decrease, the first half of the year looked great, thanks...

Trend 27: eBay and 3 Predictions for the Automotive Aftermarket

October 3, 2012

The online giant eBay is growing and evolving with both consumers and merchants in mind. It’s now more than an online auction site and “the world’s online marketplace.” It has evolved into sales platforms and technologies, through its many subsidiaries, supporting both online and offline retail sales. There’s a solution for large online retailers as well as “mom and pop” local retailers. Today, eBay’s mission is to take the “e” out of “ecommerce” and support commerce at all levels through all channels. Shopping anytime, anywhere is eBay’s new vision. Here are our predictions for eBay and the automotive aftermarket....

Trend 42: 2 Things to Know About Today’s Vehicle Shoppers

September 18, 2012

Vehicle shoppers are becoming more decisive when it comes to shopping for vehicles. They know what they are looking for and make a decision faster than they ever have in the past. Here two things you should know about today’s vehicle shoppers: 1). 81% of auto shoppers decide which car to purchase within 3 months (vs. 67% in 2009). 2). Safety, utility and fuel efficiency are some of the most important attributes shoppers pay attention to. Also of interest, when comparing 2012 to 2013, searches for repair and maintenance services have grown 8% faster than searches for vehicles. (Source:...

Trend 66: 2 Things to Know About Online Sales of Auto Parts in 2012

August 23, 2012

For our first automotive aftermarket trend, we look at two things you need to know about online retail sales of auto parts in 2012. 1). Retail brick and mortar sales of automotive parts and accessories had a strong first half of the year, but online sales are still far outpacing traditional retail. We’re still forecasting online sales of parts and accessories to come in around $3.5 billion (excluding online auctions) in 2012. We’ll have more detail on that in some of our posts over the next 66 days. 2). June slowdown: Online retailers of auto parts and accessories have...

2012 Online Sales of Auto Parts Growing

April 17, 2012

With the Catalyst 2012 conference this week — ChannelAdvisor’s annual ecommerce gathering — we thought this would be a good time to examine online sales of auto parts, sales statistics and multichannel shopping. The growth in online sales of auto parts has been outpacing the rest of the industry for many years. In 2009 we saw the slowest growth rate at just under 10% over 2008. More recently, we’re seeing a robust growth rate again and we’re projecting online sales of auto parts to be just under $3.5 billion in 2012. This is purely retail sales of auto parts...

Americans Spend More Income on Auto Parts, Reversing Long-Term Trend

January 23, 2012

A bit of good news to add to our post last month that sales of auto parts for 2011 will show an increase over 2010: Our market research shows the amount of auto parts purchased as a percentage of personal income has reversed a downward trend of more than 10 years. In 2010, retail sales of auto parts represented about half a percent of personal income (0.0513% to be exact). Preliminary numbers for 2011 show the first increase in that percentage in more than 10 years, to levels not seen since 2008. We’re projecting just over 0.052% of personal...

Financial Benchmarking Program Allows Automotive Distributors, Manufacturers and Retailers to Measure Business Performance

September 22, 2011

The SEMA Financial Benchmarking program administered by Hedges & Company is accepting new participants. This market research program provides auto parts and accessory distributors, manufacturers and retailers exclusive, industry-specific sales forecasts and key performance indicators, with the ability to confidentially compare their company’s performance with other companies in the industry. The SEMA Financial Benchmarking program collects data from respondents through a simple questionnaire. Responses are aggregated and program participants receive a monthly report of metrics including year-to-date sales, sales forecasts, quick ratio, gross margin, inventory turns, customer return rate, sales per employee, operational overhead and more. Now in its...

How A Price Increase/Decrease Affects Gross Profit vs. Unit Sales

October 15, 2010

(Note: if you need to calculate gross margin scroll down.) If you want to increase gross margin with a price increase, you should know how gross profit is calculated and assuming a drop in unit sales, how many unit sales are needed to maintain the same gross profit. On the other hand if you’re considering a sale you should know how many additional unit sales are needed to maintain the same gross profit. You need to know how total unit sales can drop (for a price increase) or need to increase (for a price decrease) for gross profit dollars...

Using the Pareto 80/20 Principle to Analyze your Business and Increase Profits

October 15, 2010

Here’s how the 80/20 principle can be used to streamline your business, reduce your costs, and increase your profits. You’ve probably heard about Pareto’s Law or the 80/20 principle, although most people only understand 20% of it, 80% of the time. This simple principle can be used to increase your sales, profits and overall marketing, and is easy to use. First, a quick history lesson: Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian economist and sociologist born in 1848. His big discovery in 1897, “Pareto’s Law,” claimed that in any society, 20% of the people would earn 80% of the income. Pareto’s...

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Posts Tagged ‘ retail sales ’

September Slowdown for Auto Parts Retail Sales

Trend 4: Enthusiasts: Time Between Decision and Actual Purchase

Trend 7: 3 Things Aftermarket Retail Stores Need to Stay Ahead of the Curve

Trend 12: 2 Things to Know About How Consumers Perceive Price

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

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

Trend 25: Retail Auto Parts Sales Outlook for 2012

Trend 27: eBay and 3 Predictions for the Automotive Aftermarket

Trend 42: 2 Things to Know About Today’s Vehicle Shoppers

Trend 66: 2 Things to Know About Online Sales of Auto Parts in 2012

2012 Online Sales of Auto Parts Growing

Americans Spend More Income on Auto Parts, Reversing Long-Term Trend

Financial Benchmarking Program Allows Automotive Distributors, Manufacturers and Retailers to Measure Business Performance

How A Price Increase/Decrease Affects Gross Profit vs. Unit Sales

Using the Pareto 80/20 Principle to Analyze your Business and Increase Profits