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Online spare parts sales: e-commerce a new (profitable) opportunity for the aftermarket
Stefano Belfiore
Physical store and digital business strategies: a new multi-channel approach for companies in the sector with soaring online business volumes, while many customers prefer purchasing parts on the web and then collect goods at the store.
Despite outcries against Amazon crushing a number of vital segments of the traditional distribution network (just look at how it brought the high-tech sector to its knees), traditional spare parts stores do not seem to be overly anxious. A similar scenario involves another e-commerce giant, eBay, that distributes large quantities of spare parts in Italy through the web (1 item sold every 5 seconds), without really affecting the primary role that physical stores play thanks to intangible values, such as know-how and expertise, hard to copy on the net. The web is not a threat, but rather a further opportunity for growth where online and offline channels can be successfully integrated in “ad hoc” marketing strategies. In the end, what pays, is a multi-channel strategy that goes hand in hand with a professional approach.
Don’t fear the net
Traditional spare parts stores will still be evergreen. According to a survey by Morgan Stanley Research on a sample of investors and recently published on Business Insider Italia, Amazon is not regarded as a major threat for the many stores operating in the vast American territory. Two are the main reasons. On the one hand, although the Seattle giant is perfectly able to deliver spare parts quickly and at competitive prices, it cannot enjoy a direct relationship with car dealerships, unlike most traditional US distribution networks. The other reason has a name: professional advice. A direct customer care service that forms and matures across the counter of a spare parts dealer and that is hard to beat for any e-commerce platform.
Long live the physical store
Nowadays, 54 per cent of internet users generally buy on the web but still prefer to collect the items from traditional stores, and this places the physical store at the centre of a multichannel sales strategy, a solid point of reference in spare parts trading. The same applies to Italian aftermarket operators, where the proactive dialogue between local spare parts dealer, mechatronics and customers is still the favourite sales channel. Dialogue that matures, as mentioned, on long lasting direct relationships in looking for, identifying and proposing the right parts. Hence, the spare parts store is the ideal habitat for this type of business relationship without neglecting other factors such as logistics, networks, know-how, as well as the ability of making the most of market innovations.
e-commerce: from threat to opportunity
A good spare parts dealer should also think in terms of integrated marketing, where offline and online sales strategies strike the perfect balance. Fortunately, an increasing number of local spare parts dealers have recognized the benefits of such an approach as well as the pivotal role of the physical shop, and are starting to adopt e-commerce strategies aimed at integrating their traditional business with digital channels in an effort to increase their business volumes. The net, therefore, becomes an important gate towards greater business opportunities.
Quality and service
The only real threat, unfortunately, lies in the various pitfalls that lurk in the endless tunnels of the web (counterfeit parts and scams, just to mention a few). Hence the importance of guaranteeing a professional approach, providing the consumers with all the necessary information about the product they intend to buy, allowing them to choose a safe and guaranteed product that meets the criteria of the BER law. Thus the quality of the products are safeguarded, so as to protect companies that invest in this sense and work in compliance with the rules.
Don’t fear the net
Traditional spare parts stores will still be evergreen. According to a survey by Morgan Stanley Research on a sample of investors and recently published on Business Insider Italia, Amazon is not regarded as a major threat for the many stores operating in the vast American territory. Two are the main reasons. On the one hand, although the Seattle giant is perfectly able to deliver spare parts quickly and at competitive prices, it cannot enjoy a direct relationship with car dealerships, unlike most traditional US distribution networks. The other reason has a name: professional advice. A direct customer care service that forms and matures across the counter of a spare parts dealer and that is hard to beat for any e-commerce platform.
Long live the physical store
Nowadays, 54 per cent of internet users generally buy on the web but still prefer to collect the items from traditional stores, and this places the physical store at the centre of a multichannel sales strategy, a solid point of reference in spare parts trading. The same applies to Italian aftermarket operators, where the proactive dialogue between local spare parts dealer, mechatronics and customers is still the favourite sales channel. Dialogue that matures, as mentioned, on long lasting direct relationships in looking for, identifying and proposing the right parts. Hence, the spare parts store is the ideal habitat for this type of business relationship without neglecting other factors such as logistics, networks, know-how, as well as the ability of making the most of market innovations.
e-commerce: from threat to opportunity
A good spare parts dealer should also think in terms of integrated marketing, where offline and online sales strategies strike the perfect balance. Fortunately, an increasing number of local spare parts dealers have recognized the benefits of such an approach as well as the pivotal role of the physical shop, and are starting to adopt e-commerce strategies aimed at integrating their traditional business with digital channels in an effort to increase their business volumes. The net, therefore, becomes an important gate towards greater business opportunities.
Quality and service
The only real threat, unfortunately, lies in the various pitfalls that lurk in the endless tunnels of the web (counterfeit parts and scams, just to mention a few). Hence the importance of guaranteeing a professional approach, providing the consumers with all the necessary information about the product they intend to buy, allowing them to choose a safe and guaranteed product that meets the criteria of the BER law. Thus the quality of the products are safeguarded, so as to protect companies that invest in this sense and work in compliance with the rules.
