European workshops prefer online platform to buy automotive spare parts

Workshops are a significant customer group for online shops in European countries. This fact is revealed by the results from a re-examination of the online trade with automotive spare parts in the five European core countries plus Poland, conducted by Schaeffler Automotive Aftermarket together with VREI (Verein Freier Ersatzteilemarkt e.V.) in cooperation with market research and consulting agency 2hm & Associates GmbH. 

While in 2012, online retailers generated only one-third of their sales with business clients, this share increased to nearly 50% in 2015. For the future, shop operators expect that the main growth will take place in the commercial customers segment. The times when mostly private drivers and Do-it-Yourself customers purchased spare parts from online shops seem to be over.

Clear signals for this are the expansion of the direct business relationships between online shops and workshops, as well as the increasing professionalisation of the shops that have attuned to this demanding but lucrative buyer group by taking numerous measures. Meanwhile, approximately three-quarters of the online shops offer quantity – and frequency-dependent discounts to their customers – a tool which is being used for customer retention and which requires a professional customer management system.

A substantial reason for the increasing share of traders in the customer base is probably the significant price advantage of the online trade which in comparison to 2012 has increased again and by now lies at around 21%. This offers an opportunity for the workshops to achieve a higher margin. In addition, the wider assortment range – compared to regional parts suppliers – as well as the simple and convenient ordering process, have been mentioned by the online traders as essential purchase reasons.

In spite of the shift in the customer segments, the simple and often required spare parts still account for the biggest sales in the online channel. These include oils such as 5W-30, brake discs and brake linings, windshield wipers, and spark plugs. On the other hand, the online share of technically complex products that mostly are installed by workshops lies at below 1%. The study says it is doubtable that the online channel in this parts segment will increase as clearly as is the case for simple spare parts. It is obvious though that the suppliers from the traditional sales channels in Europe need to think about an adaption of their business models.