Best Practices Supplement - November 2021 - 30_SUPP

EDITION
MAY
EDITION
FROM THE
30
EDITION
FROM THE
EDITION
FROM THE
JUNE
JULY
BEST PRACTICES 2021
E-commerce boosts parts biz
Online sales create a new
revenue stream that also
offsets fewer service
visits from customers
FROM THE
AUGUST
EDITION
FROM THE
COMPANIES SUCH AS EBAY AND
Amazon might have written the playbook
for selling parts and accessories
via the Internet, but
they don't have a lock
on that market.
SEPTEMBER
EDITION
FROM THE
OCTOBER
EDITION
FROM THE
NOVEMBER
EDITION
For Art Angielski,
general manager at
Sherwood Park Toyota
near Edmonton, online
orders have been thriving, with each
month's sales doubling those of the
same month a year ago. The current
volume means $50,000 to $60,000 per
month in gross sales.
He said the revenue helps offset a
decline in service visits as automakers
introduce extended oilchange
and maintenance
schedules for new cars.
" Used to be oil changes
were every 5,000 or
8,000 kilometres. Now,
they're 16,000 kilometres,
so your visits per
customer are dropping
and you have to find new
ways to drive revenue. "
Nathan Lawrence,
lifestyle and accessories
specialist at Pfaff BMW
in Mississauga, Ont.,
said that of the dealership's
$230,000 to $250,000
in monthly parts and
accessories sales, about
four per cent - $9,000 to
$10,000 - are to online
customers.
Sherwood Park Toyota parts
technician MacKenzie Kowalchuk
packs an online order. The
dealership launched its online parts
business in 2018. SUPPLIED PHOTO
CAR SHORTAGES
He said the best example of the
potential to grow online sales is from a
part he didn't have.
Angielski:
" Your
visits per
customer
are
dropping
and you
have to find
new ways
to drive
revenue. "
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
" It's four to five per cent now, but
it was quite a bit more when we were
in lockdown [because of COVID-19], "
Lawrence said. " Now that people want
to get out more, it's gone down a bit. "
Lawrence said BMW-branded clothing
and accessories are the top sellers,
but his dealership is also selling parts to
outside mechanics looking to repair clients'
cars as well as to owners of older
BMWs looking for hard-to-find parts.
" We were getting calls, about three
or four a day, looking for the exact same
part for a 1990s [BMW] Z3 " he said. The
part, a reflector, was not available.
" Somewhere in the U.S., someone
posted on an online forum our website
address, and that we were the only
dealership in North America where
you could get this part, just for this one
reflector.
" The calls were coming from everywhere,
Texas, Alabama, Florida. "
Lawrence attributes some of the
interest for online parts to owners electing
to keep their vehicles instead of
trading them in.
" I think that's what I'm seeing, people
saying they don't necessarily need
a new car, or new-car payments, so
they're looking to keep a car on the
road. "
Sherwood Park Toyota's online parts
business, launched in 2018, is selling
components in significant numbers
across North America, Angielski said.
By KELLY TAYLOR
WINNIPEG CORRESPONDENT
TRD (Toyota Racing Development)
parts, RAV4 cargo covers, even gear oil
routinely get packed up and shipped.
" On the TRD stuff, we do very well,
but here's a surprise - we're selling 15
to 20 RAV4 cargo covers online every
month. Why those customers' dealers
aren't selling them at
the time of purchase, I
don't know, but it's good
for us. "
The Edmonton dealership
recently sold
a case of gear oil to
an Ontario customer,
which was another surprise.
" I
can say with some
certainty that Ontario
has Toyota dealers [to
go to]. "
U.S. customers are
drawn to his selection
of TRD accessories -
shocks, high-flow air
and oil filters, suspension
kits, wheels - that
they can't buy south of
the border, he said.
Lawrence:
Online parts
sales are
due in part
to people
wanting to
repair their
current car
instead of
buying a
new one.
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
Angielski credits his success to
Edmonton-based digital marketer R22,
which has built an online portal that
allows Sherwood Park to photograph
every part and offer how-to-install videos.
A
strong search engine optimization
plan also is also essential.
" If you're local and you search for
'Toyota parts,' we're the first result that
comes up. "
Pfaff BMW's Lawrence said success
in online sales requires a seamless
transaction for customers in cyberspace.
Pfaff uses the online sales platform
SimplePart.
" That's the biggest thing, being able
to navigate smoothly through the dealership's
website, " he said. " If you have
to submit a form or enter an email
address just to ask a question, that's a
red flag. People think they're going to
get all sorts of spam.
" You don't need to do that. "
Jean-François Champagne, president
of the Automotive Industries
Association, which represents independent
service shops, said surveys show
more Canadians are shopping online for
everything from parts to fluids, and he
expects that trend to continue. - ANC
Best Practices Supplement - November 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Best Practices Supplement - November 2021
