Toronto, Ontario — Online shopping for collision repair shops may be seeing significant growth in the near future, according to AIA Canada’s latest report, titled What’s in Your Online Cart? A Study of Automotive E-tailing in Canada.
The report, as a part of AIA Canada’s Consumer Behavior Series, aims to breakdown newly observed purchasing habits of automotive aftermarket shoppers after a survey of more than 2,000 Canadian aftermarket consumers.
Some key nuggets of information include: online purchases of parts and fluids have nearly doubled since 2016; there is no single website dominating the online automotive retail scene, despite the presence of giants like Amazon, Costco, Canadian Tire and Walmart; and, online shopping might end up hurting the ability of independent repair shops to build real-world customer relationships
All in all, the report seems to signify an influx of online opportunities. The major takeaway is that aftermarket consumer loyalty to sites is still developing according to 50 percent of respondents who claim to not remember which sites they have used in the past.
The full report is available for $199 on AIA Canada’s site.
